>B 189 
S85 
'opy 1 



SB 189 
.S85 
Copy 1 




UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
"" BULLETIN No. 498 

Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOK, Chief 



Washington, D. C. 



February 19, 1917 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING CEREALS 

AT THE EASTERN OREGON DRY- 

FARMING SUBSTATION 

MORO, OREG. 



By 

DAVID E. STEPHENS, Station Superintendent 
Office of Cereal Investigations 



CONTENTS 



Page 

Introduction . . . .' 1 

Description of the StalSosi 2 

Soli 3 

Climatic Conditions 5 

Experimental Methods 11 

Dimensions of Plats , 11 

Treatment of Plats 12 

'Vreal Experiments 14 

Spring Wheat 14 



Page 
Cereal Experiments — Continued. 

Spring Oats 26 

Spring Barley 31 

Comparative Value of Wheat, Oate, 

and Barley 35 

Spring Emmer 35 

Grain Sorghums 36 

Summary 36 







WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1917 



^NgV« > IVJg?.jaM BI 



Monograph 






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0« Of D«- 

MAR 2 1917 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 




BULLETIN No. 498 

Cflf* Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry *^fL 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM. A. TAYLOR, Chief 



^y^f^^^JT. 




Washington, D. C. 



February 19, 1917 



EXPERIMENTS WITH SPRING CEREALS AT THE 
EASTERN OREGON DRY-FARMING SUBSTATION, 
MORO, OREG. 

By David E. Stephens, Station Superintendent, Office of Cereal Investigations. 



CONTENTS, 



Page. 

Introduction " 1 

Description of the station 2 

Soil 3 

Climatic conditions 5 

Experimental methods 11 

Dimensions of plats 11 

Treatment of plats 12 

Cereal experiments 14 

Spring wheat 14 



Cereal experiments — Continued. 

Spring oats 26 

Spring barley 31 

Comparative value of wheat, oats, and 

barley 35 

Spring emmer 35 

Grain sorghums 36 

Summary 30 



INTRODUCTION. 

The Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation ^ was established at 
Moro, Greg., in 1909. The land was purchased and the buildings 
(fig. 1) erected with funds contributed by Sherman County. The 
expense of mamtenance is borne jomtly by the Oregon Agricultural 
Experiment Station and the Bureau of Plant Industry. 

A cooperative agreement between the Bureau of Plant Industry 
and the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station specifies that ''The 
objects of the cooperative investigations shall be (a) to improve the 
cereals of the Pacific coast region by introducing or producing better 
varieties than those now grown, especially with regard to drought 
resistance, yield, quality, earliness, etc.; (b) to determine the best 
methods of cultivation and crop rotation for grain production; and 
(c) to conduct such other experiments as may seem advisable for the 
accomplishment of the greatest possible good to the cereal interests 
of the State of Oregon." FuU credit is given to the Oregon Agri- 

»From the establishment of the Moro substation until November, 1911, Mr. H. J. C. Umberger was 
superintendent. In February, 1912, the writer was appointed superintendent. 
67313°— Bull. 498—17 1 







BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUKE. ^, D 

s 

cultural Experiment Station and to Sherman County for their share 
in obtaining the cooperative results reported in this publication. 

Some preliminary work was done in 1910, but most of the experi- 
ments were not started until 1911. The investigational work at 
Moro comprises tests of methods of production and improvement of 
cereals, including crop rotation and tillage. This bulletin deals only 
with the varietal tests of spring-sown cereals, including wheat, 
emmer, oats, barley, and grain sorghums. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE STATION. 

The Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation is located in the 
southwestern part of the Columbia Basin/ near Moro, in Shennan 
County, Oreg. Eastern Oregon, as the term is used locally, refers to 
all that portion of the State east of the Cascade Mountains. Sherman 
County lies along the Columbia River, the northern border of the State. 
It is really about midway of the State from east to west. Moro is 



< 




Fig. 1. — General view of the station buildings at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation, at Mora 

about 15 miles from the Columbia River, on a branch line of the 
Oregon- Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. A map of the State, 
on which the location of the substation is indicated, is shown in 
figure 2. 

The elevation of the substation is approximately 2,000 feet. The 
soil and climatic conditions at Moro are typical of a large part of the 
Columbia Basin. It is believed, therefore, that the results obtained 
at the substation are applicable in a general way to most of the 
Columbia Basin, but especially to districts where the prevailmg soil 
type is silt loam and where the annual average precipitation ranges 
from 9 to 12 inches. 

The substation comprises 233 acres, about 200 of which are till- 
able. Like most of the Columbia Basin lands, the surface is very 
rolling, nearly every direction and inclination of slope being repre- 
sented. On the experimental plats the slopes vary from nearly level 

1 For a general description of the Columbia Basin, see Hunter, Byron, Farm practice in the Columbia 
Basin uplands, U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 294, 30 p., 1907. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 3 

land to a rise of 11 feet per 100. A contour map of the substation is 
shown in figure 3. 

For the purpose of comparing the soil and climatic conditions at 
Moro with those of other localities, a brief description is given of the 
soil and chmate at the substation. 

SOIL. 

The soil at the substation is the fine silt loam characteristic of a 
large portion of the Columbia Basin. It is classified by the Bureau 
of Soils as Yakima silt loam. It is derived largely from the decom- 












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Fig. 2.— Map of Oregon, showing contour lines east of the Cascade Range and the location of the Eastern 
Oregon Dry-Farming Substation, at Moro. 

position of the basaltic or lava rock by which it is underlain. UnUke 
some of the soils nearer the Columbia River, the percentage of sand 
is not high enough to cause trouble from soil shifting or blowing. 
The soil is easily worked and requires little cultivation to put it in 
good tilth, the only implements really necessary for making a good 
seed bed being a plow and a spike-tooth harrow. The disk harrow, 
however, is frequently used prior to plowing, and a bar weeder for 
surface cultivation of the summer fallow. According to Bradley,^ 
the general composition of eastern Oregon soils, of which the sub- 
station soil is typical, is as shown in Table I. 



> Bradley, C. E. Soils of Oregon. Oreg. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 112, iS p. 1912. 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 




SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 
Table I. — Composition of silt loam soil in the Columbia Basin. 



Constituents. 


Total. 


Soluble 

in 

1.115 HCl. 


Constituents. 


Total. 


Soluble 

in 

1.115 HCl. 


Silica (SiOo) 


Per cent. 

62.85 

1.63 

4.52 

1.94 

.04 


Per cent. 

0.34 

.74 

3.05 

1.66 


Iron and aluminum oxids 
(FeoO^ and AI2O3) 


Per cent. 

8.47 
.30 
.11 
.37 


Per cent. 


Potash (KoO) .' 


8.37 


I.ime(Cad) 


Phosphoric a,cid (P2O5) 


.21 






Manganese oxid (Mn304) 


Volatile 











From analyses of surface soiL obtained from both virgin and cropped 
areas Bradley concludes that "while the percentage of nitrogen in 
these soils has remained practically constant under continual crop- 
ping for, in extreme cases, 25 years, there has been a marked decrease 
in the carbon or organic content." Probably on account of this 
deficiency in humus the surface soil at the substation is inchned to 
run together or pack in the spring from the effects of winter precipi- 
tation. 

The soil is remarkably uniform in texture, absorbs water readily, 
and has a high moisture-holding capacity. At the substation the depth 
of the soil to the rock formation underneath varies from 1 to 9 feet, 
the deeper soil being on the higher elevations and on the northward 
slopes. Where the ground slopes toward the west or southwest, the 
soil usually is shallow and therefore less suited to cereal production, 
because of its inability to store sufficient moisture to mature crops. 
Most of the farm had been cropped to grain for about 25 years prior 
to the establishment of the substation. 



CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 



Careful records of climatological phenomena have been kept since 
January, 1910, in cooperation with the Biophysical Laboratory of 
the Bureau of Plant Industry. The weather-observing equipment 
consists of standard snow and ram gauges, maximum and minimum 
thermometers, self-recording thermographs, an evaporation tank, 
an anemometer, and a psychrometer. 



PRECIPITATION. 



In no other place in the world is cereal production conducted on 
such an extensive scale with so Uttle precipitation as in the Colum- 
bia Basin. As Table II shows, the lowest annual precipitation 
in the vicinity of Moro durmg the past 10 years has been 7.68 inches. 
The precipitation for the years from 1905 to 1909, inclusive, was 
recorded at Grass Valley, which is about 10 miles south of Moro, 
while that for the years 1910 to 1915, inclusive, was recorded at the 
substation. The average annual precipitation for the 11-year period 
from 1905 to 1915 is 11.35 inches. The highest annual precipitation 
since records have been kept at the substation is 14.89 inches. 



6 BULLETIISr 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICTJLTUEE. 

Table II. — Monthly and annual precipitation at Grass Valley and Moro, Oreg., showing 
the average, maximum, and minimum for each month, from 1905 to 1915, inclusive. 

[Precipitation data (in inches): Previous to December, 1909, from the Oregon-Washington Railroad & 
Navigation Co., Grass Valley, Oreg.; since December, 1909, from the substation records. T^trace.] 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


An- 
nual. 


1905 


0.76 
1.00 
2.65 

.55 
2.56 

.95 
1.18 
3.58 
1.33 
2.20 
1.75 


0.20 

.85 

.48 

.02 

1.03 

1.47 

.46 

1.36 

.23 

1.16 

2.31 


0.05 

1.65 

1.60 

.68 

.68 

.63 

.25 

.69 

.76 

.11 

1.27 


0.03 
.10 

1.06 
.11 
.10 
.66 
.35 
.78 
.58 

2.06 
.65 


1.70 
1.05 

.90 
1.41 

.49 
1.25 
1.05 
1.33 
2.27 

.76 
2.06 


1.30 

1.85 
.89 
.37 
.99 
.89 
.64 
.42 

1.39 
.66 
.36 


0.36 
T 
.30 
.22 
.10 
T 
.00 
.02 
.06 
.08 
.57 


T 
.34 

.71 

.34 

.02 

.00 

T 

.74 

.05 

T 

.05 


0.75 
.35 
.50 
.12 
.45 
.20 

4.03 
.21 
.49 

1.05 

1.14 


1.36 

T 

.20 
1.11 

.87 
.70 
.33 
.78 
1.87 
1.48 
.23 


0.85 
2.59 
1.46 
1.12 
3.34 
2.76 

.30 
1.30 
1.45 

.88 
2.89 


1.35 

2.22 

2.68 

1.63 

1.14 

.88 

.61 

2.12 

1.69 

.88 

1.61 


8.71 


1906 


12.00 


1907 


13.43 


1908 


7.68 


1909 


11.77 


1910 


10.39 


1911 


9.20 


1912 


13. 33 


1913 


12.17 


1914 


11.32 


1915 


14.89 






Average 


1.68 

3.58 

.55 


.87 

2.31 

.02 


.76 

1.65 

.05 


.59 

2.00 

.03 


1.30 

2.27 

.49 


.89 

1.85 

.37 


.16 

.57 
.00 


.20 

.74 
.00 


.84 

4.03 

.12 


.81 

1.87 

T 


1.72 

3.34 

.30 


1.53 

2.58 
.61 


11.35 


Maximum . 


14.86 


Minimum 


7.68 







The distribution of the precipitation usually is favorable for grow- 
ing cereals, nearly all of the rain falling during the months from 




Fig. 4.— Experimental plats at the Moro substation in the spring of 1916, showing the ruu-ofl during the 
melting of a heavy covering of snow. 

September to June. July and August are practically rainless. In 
some years there is considerable run-off in tlie winter or early spring 
(fig. 4). Soil samples taken to a depth of 6 feet on 20 plats in May, 
1913, had an average of only 1 per cent more moisture than samples 
taken on the same plats in November, 1912, though the precipitation 
during the interval measured 5.5 inches. From September 1, 1914, 
to February 28, 1915, the precipitation was 8.35 inches, but this 
penetratecf stubble ground to a depth of less than 2 feet. The rains 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



\ "N) 



which occur during the late spring, summer, and autumn months are 
of such a nature that practically all of the water is absorbed by the 
soil, but much of the winter precipitation is frequently lost as run-off. 
As is shown in Table II, the wettest months are November, December, 
and January. Much of the precipita- 
tion during these months is usually in 
the form of snow. 

The 1 1-year average precipitation by 
months is shown graphically in figure 5. 

The precipitation available for grow- 
ing cereals during any particular season 
in this section is largely that which 
falls from September 1 to August 31. 
In comparing crop production with 
precipitation data, therefore, records 
for calendar years are not so valuable 
as those for crop years ending August 
3 1 . The precipitation which falls dur- 
ing the growing season is also an im- 
portantf actor in influencing crop yields. 
The average seasonal precipitation for 
small grains (March to July, inclu- 
sive), as shown in Table III, is 3.83 
inches. 

Table III gives precipitation records 
for each of the five crop years for which 
results are reported in this bulletin, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, and also 
the precipitation for the growing season in each of those years. 

Table III. — Precipitation at Moro, Oreg., in crop years {ending Aug. 31) and in the 
growing season {March to July, inclusive), for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 




A/O^. 



^£'C. 



Fig. 5.— Diagram showing the average 
monthly precipitation in inches at Moro, 
Greg., during the 11 years from 1905 to 1915. 



Period. 


Inches. 


Period. 


Inches. 


Amiual: 

Sept. 1, 1910, to Aug. 31, 1911 


8.47 
14.19 
11.08 
12.53 
13.31 


Seasonal: 

Mar. Ito July 31, 1911 


2.29 


Sept 1 1911, to Aug. 31, 1912 


Mar. 1 to July 31, 1912 


3.24 


Sept 1, 1912, to Aug. 31, 1913 


Mar. Ito July 31, 1913 


5.06 


Sept. 1, 1913, to Aug. 31, 1914 


Mar. Ito July 31, 1914 


3.67 


Sept. 1, 1914, to Aug. 31, 1915 


Mar. 1 to July 31, 1915 


4.91 




Average 






11.92 


3.83 









It wiU be observed that the crop year of 1912, from the standpoint 
of precipitation, was the most favorable for crop production of any 
of the five years for which data are here given. The crop year of 1911 
was very unfavorable, the total precipitation being only 8.47 inches, 
of which only 2.29 inches fell during the growing season. The 
average for the five years ending August 31 is 0.57 inch more than 



8 BULLETIN 498, U. S, DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTTJRE. 

tlie 11-year average, and the average for the growmg season in the 
five years is 0.13 inch more than the 11-year average for the same 
months. 

EVAPORATION. 

Records of evaporation from a free water surface have been kept 
during the seven months, April to October, inclusive, in the years 
1911 to 1915, inclusive. The method used is the same as at other 
stations cooperating with the Biophysical Laboratory "of the Bureau 
of Plant Industry. 1 The evaporation tank at Moro is 2 feet deep 
and 6 feet in diameter. Table IV gives the monthly evaporation, 
April to October, inclusive, in the years 1911 to 1914, inclusive. 

Table IV. — Evaporation, in inches, from a free water surface at Moro, Oreg., in the 
seven months, April to October, inclusive, for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 



Month. 



April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September . 
October 

Total 



5.92 
6.13 
9.61 
11.57 
9.28 
4.16 
2.34 



49.01 



4.51 
6.75 
7.75 
7.89 
6.72 
4.50 
2.60 



40.72 



4.09 
6.24 
7.36 
7.90 

7.82 
4.82 
3.52 



41.75 



1914 



4.02 
7.43 
8.29 
11. 43 
9.64 
4.40 
2.20 



47.41 



5.13 
5.90 
8.45 
9.05 
9.59 
5. 3D 
2.98 



46.40 



Average. 



4.73 
6.50 
8.29 
9.57 
8.61 
4.64 
2.73 



45. 07 



The liighest evaporation occurred in 1911, when the evaporation 
for the seven months was approximately five times greater than the 
total precipitation for that year. The lowest evaporation was in 
1912, when the ratio of the evaporation for the seven months to the 
total precipitation for the year was about 3 to 1 . During the 6-month 
period from April to September, inclusive, the average evapora- 
tion at the substation in the years from 1911 to 1915, inclusive, was 
42.34 inches. Tliis is greater than the evaporation reported by 
Briggs and Belz^ during a 6-month period at any station north 
of the fortieth parallel of latitude (the northern boundary of Kansas). 

Table V shows the evaporation and precipitation and the winter- 
wheat yields at the Moro substation and two other representative 
dry-farming stations, one in the Great Basin at Nephi, Utah, at an 
elevation of nearly 6,000 feet, and one in the northern Great Plains 
at Moccasin, Mont., at an elevation of 4,300 feet. The wheat yields 
reported in Table V were produced under the same method, altor- 
nathig wheat with summer fallow, at all the stations. Investiga- 
tions similar to those conducted at More are being carried on at 
Nephi and at Moccasin. The precipitation and evaporation data are 
taken from the records of the Biophysical Laboratory and the 
wheat yields from the records of the Office of Cereal Investigations. 



• Briggs, L. J., and Belz, J. O. Dry farming in relation to rainfall and evaporation. U. S. Dept. Agr., 
Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 188, p. 16-20. 1910. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



9 



Data are available for the years 1909 to 1915 at Moccasin, for the 
years 1908 to 1915 at Nephi, and for the years 1911 to 1915 at Moro. 

Table V. — Precipitation and evaporation data and yields of luinter and spring wheat 
at Moccasin, Mont., Nephi, Utah, and Moro, Oreg., in the years indicated. 



Character of data. 



Average precipitation: 

Annual inches. 

Seasonal (April to August, inclusive) do 

Average evaporation: 

Seasonal (April to August, inclusive) do 

Ratio of annual precipitation to seasonal evaporation , 

Ratio of saasonal precipitation to seasonal evaporation 

Average yield of D.^st winter wheat bushels. . 

Averags yield of best spring wheat do 



Moccasin, 


Nephi, 


1909 to 


1908 to 


1915. 


1915. 


16.66 


12.78 


9.06 


5.15 


27.96 


38.71 


1:1.68 


1:3 


1:3. 1 


1:7.5 


35.7 


25 


27.6 


10 



Moro, 

1911 to 

1915. 



12.18 
3.39 

37.70 
1: 3.2 
1:11.2 
"23 

22.1 



a Average yield of 10 plats of Turkey wheat in tillage experiments. 

The average annual precipitation and the average seasonal pre- 
cipitation are greater at Moccasin and at Nephi than at Moro. The 
average evaporation from April to August, inclusive, is 1.01 inches 
greater at Nephi and 9.74 inches less at Moccasin than at Moro. 
The ratio of annual precipitation to seasonal evaporation is slightly 
greater at Moro than at Neplii, but there is a wide difference between 
the ratios of seasonal precipitation and seasonal evaporation at Moro 
and the other two stations. 

TEMPERATURE. 

Table VI gives the highest, lowest, and mean temperatures for 
each month of the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive, and also the average 
of the means, the average of the maxima, and the average of the 
minima b}" months for the 5-year period. 

Table VI. — Mean, maximum, and minimum temperatures at Moro, Oreg., by months, 
for five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Mean: 

1911 


30.3 
29.3 
29.5 
36.5 
29.0 


30.6 
36. 8 
28.8 
33.3 
36.0 


43.5 
37.9 
38.2 

43.8 
45.0 


40.2 
45.7 
46.6 
47.6 
50.8 


51.0 
54.6 
54.6 
56.2 
53.0 


60.6 
61.4 
60.4 
59.5 
60.0 


70.0 
66.0 
67.9 
70.5 
64.8 


66.0 
62.5 
68.0 
69.1 
71.3 


54.8 
55.0 
57.6 
65.5 
57.3 


46.9 
44.9 
47.3 
49.5 
50.6 


38.0 
40.7 
40.7 
38.1 
38.2 


34 


1912 




1913 


28 


1914 


22 8 


1915 


32 8 






Average... 


30.5 


33.1 


41.7 


46.6 


53.9 


59.6 


67.8 


07.4 


56.0 


47.8 


39.1 


28. G 


Maximum: 

1911 


55 
51 
53 
51 
41 

50.2 


46 
52 
58 
38 
52 


77 
65 
57 
69 
70 


74 
68 
75 
72 
75 


86 
86 
83 
88 
78 


89 
96 
89 
91 
93 


103 
98 

101 
99 
96 


89 
97 
99 
100 
100 


■ 87 
85 
88 
83 
86 


75 
69 
74 
69 
73 


61 
61 
57 
59 
54 


53 


1912. 


54 


1913 


47 


1914 


46 


1915 


53 






Average... 


49.2 


67.6 


72.8 


84.2 


91.6 


99.4 


97.0 


85.8 


72.0 


58.4 


50.6 


Minimum: 

1911 


5 

-6 

5 

28 

10 


9 
26 

7 

28 
23 


11 
20 
9 
27 
30 


22 
28 
28 
29 
32 


30 
33 
36 
32 
34 


32 
37 
37 
34 
40 


44 
43 
41 
42 
40 


42 
38 
41 
43 
46 


34 
31 
33 
29 
36 


32 
25 
28 
32 
33 


4 
23 
29 
19 
25 


5 


1912 


19 


1913 


10 


1914 


3 


1915 


11 






Average... 


8.4 


18.6 


19.4 


27.8 


33.0 


36.0 


42.0 


42.0 


32.6 


30.0 


20.0 


8.2 



67313°— Bull. 498—17- 



10 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



Table VII shows the dates of the latest spring frosts and the 
earliest autumn frosts, together with the minimum temperature 
recorded for those dates in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. It will 
be observed from this table that during the five years no frost occurred 
in June, July, or August. None of the frosts recorded on the dates 
mentioned in Table VII did any damage to cereals. The longest 
frost-free period was in 1915, 211 days, and the shortest frost-free 
period in 1914, 108 days. The average frost-free period for the five 
years is 155.8 days. 

Table VII. — Data relating to hilling frosts at the Moro substation in the years 1911 to 

1915, inclusive. 





Last in spring. 


First in autumn. 


Frost- 


Year. 


Date. 


Temper- 
ature. 


Date. 


Temper- 
ature. 


free 
period. 


1911 


May 8 

Apr. 29 

Apr. 27 

May 27 

Apr. 8 

May 2 


° F. 
32 
31 
31 
32 
32 


Oct. 17 

Sept. 3 

Oct. 15 

Sept. 12 

Nov.5 

Oct. 5 


o p^ 

32 
31 
32 
32 
30 


Days. 
162 


1912 .. . 


127 


1913 


171 


1914 


108 


1915 


211 












155.8 















The prevailing winds at Moro are from the west, southwest, and 
northeast. Southwest or west winds usually are accompanied by 
cool or moderately warm weather in the summer and mild weather in 
winter, while east or northeast winds are nearly always accompanied 
by high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. 
Though wind velocities are never exceedingly high, the wind move- 
ment is quite constant from about March 1 to August 31. The num- 
ber of miles of wind diu-ing any 24-hour period rarely exceeds 350, 
490 miles being the highest number recorded at the substation for 
any one day of 24 hours during the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 

Table VIII gives the average wind velocity in miles per hour for 
each month of the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 

Table VIII. — Average wind velocity (in miles per hour), hy months, at the Moro substa- 
tion in the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 



Year. 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May. 


June. 


July. 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


Aver- 
age. 


1911 


5.3 

3.7 
2.4 
5.4 
3.2 


5.4 
4.9 
2.8 
5.0 
4.0 


6.3 
6.1 
5.9 
5.6 
4.7 


9.6 
8.4 
7.3 
6.5 
6.7 


9.2 

7.8 
8.3 
7.1 
5.4 


11.8 
5.9 
6.9 
8.8 
8.2 


9.4 

5.6 

5.9 
8.8 
8.1 


9.2 
5.3 
6.3 
7.5 
7.5 


7.2 

2.8 
3.8 
6.0 
7.0 


4.8 
2.0 
5.0 
4.0 
6.1 


6.7 
2.9 
4.0 
4.5 
4.3 


6.5 
4.1 
2.7 
3.9 
5.4 


7.5 


1912 


4.9 


1913 


5.1 


1914 


6.1 


1915 


5.9 


Average 


4.0 


4.4 


5.7 


7.7 


7.5 


8.2 


7.6 


7.2 


5.2 


4.4 


4.5 


4.5 


5.9 







SPEING CEREALS AT MOEO, OKEG. 11 

Table VIII shows that June is the windiest month, though there is 
little difference in the monthly averages for any month from April to 
August, inclusive. The highest average wind velocity for any year 
in the 5-year period was 7.5 miles per hour, in 1911. The year 1911 
was also the one with the least precipitation and the greatest .evap- 
oration. 

EXPERIMENTAL METHODS. 

The experimental work with cereals is conducted for the following 
purposes: (1) To ascertain what grain varieties are best adapted to 
the drier districts of the Columbia Basin, (2) to improve the best 
adapted varieties by selective breeding, (3) to determine what crop- 
rotation systems will prove most profitable in connection with grain 
raising, and (4) to find out the most economical and profitable methods 
of soil tillage for cereal production in this section. 

The work with spring grains during the first few years was along 
two lines, the testing of varieties and the improvement of varieties 
by pure-line selections. No work in hybridization has been attempted. 
A large number of pure lines have been developed, some of which 
give promise of being of considerable value. In this bulletin only the 
results of the varietal experiments will be given. 

In the testing of varieties, field plats and nursery rows are used, 
the unit of comparison being a tenth-acre or twentieth-acre in the 
plat experiments and 1-rod or 2-rod replicated rows in the nursery 
experiments. Eight-rod rows and eightieth-acre plats also have been 
used in the nursery. While a rather careful study is made of the 
varieties in the nursery and in the plat experiments and numerous 
notes taken on the habits of the plants, the value of a variety has been 
judged largely by its yield of grain. 

DIMENSIONS OF PLATS. 

As shown in figure 8, the substation farm is laid out in series of 
tenth-acre plats 8 rods long and 2 rods wide. The series are sepa- 
rated by roads 16^ feet wide and are divided into blocks of 10 plats 
each by roads of the same width. Alleys 4| feet wide separate the 
individual plats within these blocks. 

When twentieth-acre plats were used, each tenth-acre plat was 
divided in half by an alley 22 inches wide. Tlie twentieth-acre plats 
discussed in this bulletin actually contain only 2,062.5 square feet, or 
115.5 square feet less than one-twentieth of an acre. In computing 
yields per acre, however, no account has been taken of this shortage. 
Acre yields computed from the ^delds of small plats are likely to be 
slightly exaggerated on account of the increased proportion of margin. 

The plan first adopted at the substation for the varietal experi- 
ments was to grow a single tenth of an acre of each variety, with 



12 



BULLETIN 40R, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



every fiftli plat sown uniformly to one variety and regarded as a 
check. The two methods described in previous publications ^ have 
been used to determine relative or computed yields, but neither has 
proved entirely satisfactory. The variation in check-plat yields of 
spring grains usually has not been great. Occasionally, however, 
wide variations occur in the yields of check plats which can not be 
explained in any satisfactory manner. 




Fig. 6.— a bar weeder, or "slicker," in operation at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation. 

Beginning with 1913, each variety of spring grain in a varietal test 
has been sown in duplicate twentieth-acre plats. The plats in the 
two series are arranged as follows : 



1 

11 


2 
12 


3 
13 


4 
14 


5 
15 


6 
16 


7 
17 


8 
18 


9 
19 


10 
20 


11 
1 


12 
2 


13 
3 


14 
4 


15 
5 


16 
6 


17 



7 


18 
8 


19 
9 


20 
10 



All yields in this bulletin are reported in bushels per acre, based on 
the actual yields of a single tenth-acre or the average actual yields of 
two twentieth-acre plats. 

TREATMENT OF PLATS. 

The general practice in growing cereals in the Columbia Basin is to 
alternate a grain crop with bare fallow, commonly called summer 

I Cardon, P. V. Cereal investigations at the Nephi substation. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 30, p. 12, 33. 
1913. Clark, J. Allen. Cereal experiments at Dickinson, N. Dak. U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 33, p. 11, 12. 
1914. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 13 

fallow. This alternation has been followed almost without excep- 
tion in the varietal experiments at the substation. The station 
crops have been produced by the methods in general use by the farm- 
ers in this section, and the yields reported are about those which 
ordinarily may be expected. The land is plowed 7 to 8 inches deep 
in April, an early spring disking usually being given prior to plowing. 
Immediately after plowing, the gi'ound is harrowed once with a 
spike-tooth harrow, and another harrowing is given when weed 
growth starts. Later in the season, in order to eradicate weeds, the 
plats are cultivated with a weeder, locally known as a bar weeder. 
If necessary, this implement is used again later, the aim being to 
keep the fallow ground free from weeds. In order to accomplish 




Fig. 7. — Plats of the rotation experiments at the Moro substation, showing summer-fallow land In almost 
ideal condition in the foreground and small grains and corn in the background. Photographed in July, 
1914. 

this it sometimes has been necessary to cultivate so frequently that 
the soil has been too finely pulverized. The soil at the substation, 
if cultivated too much, may become so compacted after the winter 
snows and rains that much of the precipitation of winter and early 
spring is lost as run-off instead of being absorbed. Figure 6 shows 
the bar weeder in operation, and figure 7 shows the condition in 
which the fallow is usually kept during the summer months. 

Just prior to seeding sprmg grains, the ground is double disked 
and then harrowed once. Seeding is done with a disk drill, and no 
cultivation is given after seeding. 

The land in the vicinity of the substation is infested with several 
weeds that have been found difficult to control in the experimental 
plats. The two most troublesome in spring grains are the Russian 
thistle (Salsola pestifer) and tumbleweed (Amaranthus graecizans). 
Where good stands of grain are obtamed the latter weed is rarely 
found, but the Russian thistle sometimes has been troublesome, 
especially in early-sown spring grain and in grain with thin stands. 



14 BULLETIN" 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUKE. 

In the experimental plats the weeds have been destroyed by hand 
hoeing. 

All varieties are carefully rogued to free them from accidental 
mixtm-es. They are cut with a binder, shocked, and then thrashed 
several weeks later with a small separator run by a gasoline engine. 
The grain from each plat is weighed after thrashing and the bushel 
weight determined. No straw weights have been recorded. The 
rows and small plats are thrashed with a small separator designed 
for that purpose. 

CEREAL EXPERIMENTS. 

SPRING WHEAT. 

From the standpoint of total production in bushels, spring wheat 
is not as important in the Columbia Basin as winter wheat. Con- 




FiG. 8. — Varietal plats of spring grain at the Moro substation, showing summer-fallow land in the fore- 
ground. Photographed July, 1914. 

siderable spring wheat is grown, however, on account of the fact that 
dry weather frequently prevails until so late in the autumn that 
winter wheat can not be sown with safety. Winter wheat is better 
adapted to the present summer-fallow system of grain production 
in the Columbia Basin, because it permits a better distribution of 
farm labor. Winter wheat also usually gives yields somewhat higher 
than those of spring wheat. 

Many wheat varieties, like Pacific Bluestem and Little Club, are 
sown in the Columbia Basin in cither the autumn or spring, except 
on the higher elevations. 

VARIETAL EXPERIMENTS. 

Seventy-seven varieties of spring wheats have been tried at the 
substation. Some of these, which did not appear to be at all adapted, 
were discarded after a 2-year trial. New varieties have been added 
from time to time, and 5-year average yields have been obtained for 



SPEING CEREALS AT MOEO, OREG. 



15 



only seven varieties. Table IX gives the annual acre yields of all the 
spring-wheat varieties which have been tested. In this table the 
varieties are arranged in alphabetical order, without regard to the 
period during which they were grown, their rank in yield, or other 
relationships. Figure 8 shows a portion of the plats in the varietal 
experiments with spring grain in 1914. 

Table IX. — Spring-wheat varieties tested at the Moro substation, showing the yields 
obtained in each year the variety ivas grown during the Jive years, 1911 to 1915, 
inclusive. 



Variety. 


C.I. 
. No. 


Division. 


Origin. 


Yield per 


acre (bushels).a 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


Abd-el-Kader 


2075 


Durum 

Poulard 

Common 

do 


Tunis 

Southern Europe. . 


11. 1 


15.5 










13.6 
c9.4 
23.0 


15.0 


6 9.4 




2407-1 

2407-2 

2944 

2681 

2823 

2511-2 

2826-1 

2921-1 

2227 

2227-1 

4155 

1697 

2824-1 

2397-1 

1732 

2398 

2398-1 

1517 

2873 

2669 

2124-3 

4157 

5025 

17S7 

2088-4 

2200-1 

2402-1 

2405 

2203-2 

1440 

1516 

2246 

2126-2 

4066 

2099 

2099-1 
1593 
2235 
4158 
4067 

1584-1 
2086 
2794 
2089 

2089-1 
2793 

3022-1 
2228 

2346-1 

3036-2 
4074 
2495 
2670 
2247 

2247-1 


Turkestan 

do 


6 1.5 
6 8.3 
C8.4 
c7.7 
(0 
3.5 

6 13.8 
6 4.2 
11.2 

6 13.6 
3.8 
14.5 
(0 
(0 
C9.8 
7.8 
(^) 


C9.4 

^■31.2 

dl2.6 

dll.O 

(0 

7.5 

C18.3 
(0 
12.9 

6 17.8 
8.6 
19.0 

6 12.0 
(0 

dl2.8 
12.8 

'•14.2 




Do 


22.9 


20.2 


Barbilla 


do 

do 

do 

Durum 

Common 

Club 


Teneriffe 




Beseler Squarehead 










Argentina 


6 8.9 
18.0 

C15.6 
c 12.7 


6 3.1 
18.3 

24.7 
6 14.6 


6 6.6 


Ble Noir 


Abyssinia 


23.6 


Bluestem. (See Pacific 

Bluestem.) 
Bobs 


Australia 


25.4 


Bola Blanca 


Mexico 


<il6.5 


Chul 


Common 

... .do 


Turkestan 

do 




Do 


<-14.0 
18.3 
25.0 

clO.l 
(0 


21.5 
18.0 
26.0 
6 3.1 
6 12.4 


20.2 


Dale Gloria 


Club 


Oregon (?) 

Australia 




Early Baart 


Common 

do 


26.6 




do 


6 13 6 




do 

do 

do 

do 


Russia 


<■ 10.2 


















Do 


do 


cS.O 
19.6 
16.6 

21.6 


(0 
16.2 


6 14.6 




do 


do 


26.1 




do 

do 

Durum 

Club . .. 


Minnesota 

Germany 


9.1 

clO.l 
C12.9 


12.3 

d2O.0 

dl.O 

15.5 

8.6 

14.3 

c 7.5 

dl5.6 

6 15.7 

(0 

dl2.Q 

16.2 




163). 
Heine Squarehead 


22.5 


23.6 






Hybrid No. 63 


Washington 


20.6 
£■ 13.6 


15.3 
d3.3 




Hybrid No. 108 


do :.. 

Common 

Durum 

Common 

do 

do 


do 


<:6.7 

12.1 

6 11.4 
'• 11.0 

(0 
C8.2 
c 14.2 

11.0 




Kahla 


Algeria 


(0 
24.0 
12.5 
(0 
25.8 
13.6 
16.0 


6 6.7 
25.4 
dVi.Z 
6 9.3 
24.2 
15.0 
21.5 


6 8.0 




Persia 


29.4 


Khojend 


Turkestan 

.... do 


(2 16.8 


Kisil 






do 

Duram 

do 


Arabia 


33.2 


Kubauka 


Russia 




Do 


do 


18.0 


Do 


do 


do 


7.0 
c9.6 
13.1 

8.8 

clO.5 

11.3 

8.3 


12.0 

<J10.0 

22.6 

6.6 
C9.8 
15.8 
14.5 




Kurd 


do 

Club 




(0 
19.6 


6 4.2 
19.2 


6 14.6 


LittIeClub(Wash. No. 

349). 
Mahmoudi 


Washington 

Algeria 


26.0 


Durum 

do 

do 




Do 


do 

do 














Do 


do 


do 










Common 

do 




22.1 
19.4 
(^) 


22.5 
20.9 
c 6.2 


23.1 






11.7 

(0 
6 2.6 
M.8 

9.3 

6 10. 4 

cS.3 

(^) 
C8.2 

(0 
6 8.2 


20.2 

6 10.9 

C9.0 

dS.G 

18.5 

C18.0 

dlA.Q 

6 18.7 

dl2.7 

6 23.9 

6 34.4 

4.6 

dU.& 

6 18.7 

12.1 

6 15.6 


24.0 




Durum 

. .. do 


Algeria 


6 16.6 


Do 


do 




Rebeiro 


Common 

Durum 

do 


Portugal 








Richi 


Algeria 








Do 


do 








Rieti 


Common 

do 




21.3 
C12.7 


19.0 
d5.0 


24.9 


Rysting Fife 


Minnesota 




Saragolla 


Durum 

Common 

do 


Italy 








C16.0 
15.5 
15.3 
27.5 

C12.5 


23.0 
20.5 
16.3 
23.0 
d8.0 


22.7 




Me.xico (?) 

do 


24.7 


Do 


do 




Talimka 


do 


Turkestan 

Germany 


C7.0 
(«) 
9.1 

(0 


2.5.9 


Urtoba 


do 


6 16.0 




Durum 

do 


Russia 




Do 


do 


6 14.6 


C8.4 





a Acre yields are based on yields from single tenth-acre or duplicate twentieth-acre plats unless other- 
wise .stated. 
6 Growni in rod rows, usually luireplicated. d Grown in single fortieth-acre plats. 

c Gro'wn in 2-rod rows replicated 2 to 4 times. « Grown in head rows, yield not recorded. 



16 



BULLETIN" 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTTJEE. 



Table IX. — Spring-wheat varieties tested at the Moro substation, showing the yields obtained 
in each year the variety ivas grown during the Jive years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive — Contd. 



"Variety. 


C.I. 
No. 


Division. 


Origin. 


Yield per 


acre (bushels). a 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


Yantagbav 


2404-1 
2096 

2799-2 
2033 

2500-1 
2545 

2547-2 
2580 
2603 

2607-1 

2609-1 
2702 
2705 
2796 
2798 
2941 

3035-2 
4715 
4716 


Common 


Russia 


9.6 

7.8 

^4.8 

1>7.H 

6 10.6 

b9.7 

7.3 

b6.6 

6 8.7 

dS.3 

dll.4 

6 6.2 

6 8.8 

(«) 

6 4.8 

(0 
dl2.5 

(0 


19.0 

16.6 

6 15.6 

C13.3 

C12.6 

f 9.3 

12.8 

C9.8 

C14.3 

6 14.3 

6 17.5 

C6.6 

C9.3 

c 15. 4 

C6.0 

6 19.3 

6 25. 

(0 

(0 


21.3 


19.2 


25.2 




do 






Common 

do 


Mexico 


19.6 



21.0 
<i9.3 


25.2 




Hungary 


6 9.4 


Do 


Durum 

do 

do 






Do 


do 

Tunis 








Do 


17.1 


CO 


dl4.6 


Do 


Common 

do 

Durum 

do 




Do.. 


Holland 


CO- 
CO 
CO 


d7.2 
d2.1 
d5.2 


(0 


Do 


Rumania 


<i8.4 


Do 


do 




Do 


Common 

do 


Italy 




Do 


do . 








Do 


Durum 










Do 


do 








Do 


Durum 

Club 


Texas (?) 


6 10.3 

6 9.0 

dl2.5 

dl5.2 


c7.3 


C14.9 


Do.. . 






Do 


Common 

do 


China 


Failure. 


Do..^ 


do 


dlO.4 K 12.0 













a Acre yields are based on yields from single tenth-acre or duplicate twentieth-acre plats unless other- 
wise stated. 

6 Grown in 2-rod rows replicated 2 to 4 times. <* Grown in rod rows, usually umeplicated. 

c Grown in single fortieth-acre plats. « Grown in head rows, yield not recorded. 

As the leading variety of spring wheat in the Columbia Basin is the 
Pacific Bluestem, this variety has always been gi'own on check 
plats. Table X presents a list of the spring-wheat varieties that 
have been grown three or more years, with yields expressed in per- 
centages of the yield of the Bluestem variety. Where the varieties 
have been tested on areas smaller than one-twentieth of an acre, the 
average yield of the two highest yielding check plats or rows of the 
Pacific Bluestem was used as a basis of comparison. Where the 
test was on areas of one-twentieth acre or larger, the average yield of 
all Bluestem check plats was used. In all cases where the smaller 
areas were used, the Bluestem variety was sown in every fifth plat or 
row. It will be noted that certain varieties, Hke Koola, Karun, 
Early Baart, and Talimka, have given consistently higher yields 
than the Pacific Bluestem when grow^i in rows and in plats. 

Table X. — Yields of spring-wheat varieties groun at the Moro substation during three 
or more years, expressed in percentages of the average yield of the Pacific Bluestem 
variety grown in check plats and check rows. 



Variety. 


C. I. No. 


Yields Cpercentage of the yield of Pacific 
Bluestem). 




1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


Average. 




2407-2 

2511 

2826-1 

2921-1 

2227-1 

4155 

1697 

2824-1 

2398 

2398-1 

1517 

2873 


30 


0200 

37 
a 116 


119 

93 

olio 

89 

99 

94 
129 
a 71 
57 
156 
101 

85 


109 

90 

118 

6 157 

103 

87 
124 
6 40 


85 

98 

106 

C165 

85 

"iii 

6 52 


128 


Bluestem. (See Pacific Bluestem.) 

Ble Noir 


70 


Bobs 


112 




137 


Chul 


33' 

124 

76" 


127 
43 
94 

6 82 

61 

090 


101 


Dale Gloria 


64 




116 




61 




63 


Do 


77' 


6 54 
109 


67 




96 


Glvndon f Mum. No. 163 ) 


80 


63 






76 



a Grown in 2-rod rows replicated 2 to 4 times. 
6 Grown in rod rows, usually unreplicated. 



c Grown in single fortieth-acre plats. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



17 



Table X. — Yields of spring-wheat varieties yroicn at the Moro substation during three 
or more years, expressed in percentages of the average yield of the Pacific Bluestem 
variety grown in check plats and check roics — Continued. 



Variety. 


C. I. No. 


Yields (percentage of the yield of Pacific 
Bluestem). 


1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


Average. 


Heine Squarehead 


2669 

4157 

5025 

2088-4 

2200-1 

2402-1 

22a3-2 

1440,1516 

2126-2 

4066 

4158 

4067 

1584-1 

2793 

3022-1 

2346-1 

3036-2 

4074 

2495 

2670 

2247-1 

2404-1 

2799-2 

2033 

2547-2 

2603 

2607 

2941 

4716 


a 150 

""a'ioo' 

'"'ai64" 

"a 212 

94 

a 143 

114 


6 146 

76 

42 

"50 

6 114 

'■112 

6 88 

80 

6 73 

108 


111 

106 
196 

'"""124' 

0S8 
133 

84 

"""'ioo' 

114 
100 

"m 

«90 
a 113 


108 

71 

6 35 

c72 

121 

6 133 

116 

103 

f 50 

91 

108 

100 

<-73 

93 

6 52 


98 

'"""(■"so" 

122 

6 168 

134 

75 
c 56 
108 

96 
100 
<-64 
104 

95' 

103 

'"'"ios" 

c62 

""""ios" 

105 
a 74 
C56 

""c'32' 
6 149 
6 120 


123 


Hybrid No. 63 


84 


Hybrid No. 108 


68 


Kahla 


51 


Karun 


129 


Khojend 


125 


Koola 


136 


Kubanka 


87 


Kurd 


80 


Little Club (Wash. No. 349) 


104 


Marquis 


106 


Pacific Bluestem 


100 
""'0124' 

"""0164" 

84' 

a 71 

a 117 

64 

128 


100 

'■ 77 

6 102 

C133 

f 170 

e242 

23 

6 106 

<-133 

cm 

94 

6 77 

a 97 

63 

6 104 

090 

a 122 


100 


Pelissier 


71 


Rieti 


106 


Rysting Fife 


91 


Saumur 


122 


Sonora 


80 ' Q» 


131 


Do 


79 
141 

a 89 

C88 
109 
101 

88" 

'"""a"80" 
■^90 


80 
110 
6 84 
a 98 

93 

100 

C108 

""c"83" 

c23 

6 77 

C112 


66 


Talimka 


114 


Urtoba 


92 


Velvet Don 


99 


Yantagbay 


97 


Zacatecas 


91 


Tlnnamerl 


91 


Do 


68 


Do 


105 


Do 


48 


Do 


107 


Do 


107 











a Grown in 2-rod ro^ws replicated 2 to 4 times. 
6 Gro^wn in single fortieth-acre plats. 



c Grown in rod rows, usually unreplicated. 



Table XI gives the annual and average acre jdelds in bushels of the 
spring-wheat varieties that have been grown in twentieth-acre or 
larger plats during three or more years. The yields in 1911 and 1912 
are for single tenth-acre plats. Those in the years from 1913 to 1915, 
inclusive, are the average yields of duplicate twentieth-acre plats. 

Table XI. — Annual and average yields of spring-ivheat varieties groion at the Moro 
substation in twentieth-acre or larger plats for three or more years. 



Variety. 



C.I. No. 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



1911 



1912 



1915 



Average. 



3-year. 


5-year. 


22.0 




20.0 


14.2 


21.3 


17.6 


25.9 


22.2 


20.7 




22.6 




26.3 




27.7 




18.5 


16.5 


21.6 


20.1 


22.6 




21.4 


19.2 


20.2 




25.5 




22.0 


18.9 


21.9 





Aulieata 

B16Noir 

Chul 

Early Baart 

Ghirka Spring 

Heine Squarehead. 

Karun / 

Koola 

Kubanka 



Little Club 

Marquis 

Pacific Bluestem. 

Sonora 

Talimka 

Yantagbay 

Zacatecas 



2407-2 

2511-2 

2227-1 

1697 

1517 

2669-1 

2200-1 

2203-2 

f 1440 

t 1516 

4066 

4158 

4067 

3036-2 

2495 

2404-1 

2799-2 



3.5 
11.2 
14.5 


7.5 
12.9 
19.0 














[ 11.0 
13.1 


16.2 
22.6 


11.7 


20.2 






9.6 


19.0 



23.0 
18.0 
a 22. 3 
25.0 
19.6 
21.6 
24.0 
25.8 

16.0 

19.6 
22.1 
19.4 
15.5 
27.5 
21.3 
19.6 



22.9 
18.3 
21.5 
26.0 
16.2 
22.5 
25.4 
24.2 

21.5 

19.2 
22.5 
20.9 
20.5 
23.0 
19.4 
21.0 



20.2 
23.6 
20.2 
26.6 
26.1 
23.6 
29.4 
33.2 

18.0 

26.0 
23.1 
24.0 
24.7 
25.9 
25.2 
25.2 



a Yield estimated by comparison with yield of Aulieata in 1914 and 1915. 
67313°— Bull. 498—17 3 



18 



BULLETIN 4&8, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



From Table XI it is seen that several varieties appear to be better 
than the Pacific Bluestem from the standpoint ol" yield. The Early 
Baart exceeded that variety during the five years by an average 
yield of 3 bushels per acre. The Koola variety exceeded the Bluestem 
in the 3-year average yield by 6.3 bushels per acre, and for the same 
period the Karun exceeded the Bluestem by 4.9 bushels per acre. 

In Table XII the leading spring wheats grown at the Moro sub- 
station during 1913, 1914, and 1915 are arranged in several classes, 
showing the average yield for each variety and for each class. 

Table XII. — Kernel characters and 3-year average yields of leading varieties of spring 
wheat groivn at the Moro substation in 1913, 1914, and 1915, arranged by classes, ivith 
the average yield per acre of each variety and of each class. 



Class and variety. 



C. I. No. 



Character of kernels. 



Average 
yield per 

acre in 
bushels, 

191.3 to 
1915. 



COMMON AND CLUB. 

Beardless: 

Pacific Bluestem 

Ghirka 

Karun 

Little Club 

Marquis 

Sonera 



Average . 



Bearded: 

Aulieata 

Chul 

Early Baart 

Heine Squarehead. 

Koola 

Talimka 

Yantagbay 

Zacatecas 



Average. 



Bl^Noir.. 
Kubaulva. 



Average . 



4057 

1517 

2200-1 

406(i 

4158 

3036-2 



Soft, white 

Soft, red 

Hard, white 

Soft, white 

Medium hard, red 
Soft, white 



2407-2 

2227-1 

1697 

2669-1 

2203-2 

2495 

2404-1 

2799-2 



Hard, red 

do 

Soft, white 

Soft, red 

Medium hard, red . 

Hard, amber 

Hard, red 

Soft, red 



2511 
1516 



Hard, amber. 
do 



21.4 
20.7 
26.3 
21.6 
22.6 
20.2 



22.1 



22.0 
21.3 
25.9 
22.6 
27.7 
25.5 
22.0 
21.9 



23.7 



20.0 
18.5 



19.3 



Table XII shows that the durum wheats apparently are not so well 
adapted to the Columbia Basin region as are the common and club 
varieties. The bearded varieties of common wheats exceeded the yield 
of the beardless common and club varieties by 1.7 bushels per acre, 
and the average yield of all common and club wheats exceeded the 
average yield of the two durum varieties by 3.5 bushels per acre. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BEST VARIETIES. 



The six varieties of spring wheat which have given the best average 
results are described and discussed below. Of these varieties, Pacific 
Bluestem and Little Club are well known and widely grown west of 
the Rocky Mountains. Early Baart is grown commercially to a small 



SPEING CEREALS AT MOEO, OREG. 



19 



extent in Arizona and Washington, while Karun, Koola, and Talimka 
are new introductions not yet grown except in an experimental way. 
Heads of the six varieties are shown in figures 9 and 10. 

Pacific Bluestem. — Pacific Bluestem (C. I. No. 4067) is the stand- 
ard spring wheat on the farms of the Columbia Basin. It usually 
commands a premium of 3 to 4 cents a bushel over other varieties on 
western markets. It is a fairly early spring wheat of medium height, 
with beardless spikes (fig. 9,5), white, glabrous glumes, and mid- 
sized, soft, white kernels. In the West it is called simply "Blue- 
stem," but it must not be confused with the Bluestems of the hard 



A 





Fig. 9.— Heads of varieties of spring wheat gro^vn at the Moro substation: A, Little Club; B, Pacific 

Bluestem; C, Karun. 

spring-wheat belt in the northern section of the Great Plains area or 
with the Bluestems of the Atlantic coast. The exact origin of this 
variety is not known, but almost certainly it is an Australian wheat. 
It closely resembles Rymer and Warren, two varieties from New 
South Wales. It is^also identical with the White Australian, formerly 
widely gro^^^l in California. 

Little Club. — Little Club (C. I. No. 4066) is the standard variety of 
club wheat in the western United States. It is a short, midseason to 
late variety, with very broad, short leaves. The beardless spikes are 
short, but broad and very compact, usually oblong in shape (fig. 9, A) . 
The glumes are white and glabrous; the small kernels, white and soft. 



20 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTURE. 



The origin of this wheat is not known, but it is supposed to have been 
introduced into the United States from Mexico or some other portion 
of Latin America. In the experiments at Moro it has yielded as well 
or slightly better than Pacific Bluestem, but does not bring as high 
a price per bushel. 

Early Baart. — Early Baart (C. I. No. 1697) is an early-maturing 
spring wheat, with a fairly short straw. The spikes are bearded 
(fig. 10, A), the glumes white and glabrous, and the kernels white, 
large, and soft. This variety was introduced into the United States 
from Australia by the United States Department of Agriculture in 
1909. It has been grown to some extent in western Arizona for a 





Fig. 10. — Heads of varieties of spring wheat grown at the Moro substation: A, Early Baart; B, Talimka; 

C, Koola. 

number of years, but whether it was introduced into that State by 
the United States Department of Agriculture or was a separate intro- 
duction by some other agency is not known. It was brought to 
Washington from Arizona, and for this reason is sometimes called 
"Arizona Baart." It is now being grown commercially at several 
points in Adams and Lincoln Counties, Washington. 

At the Moro substation it has proved to be one of the best and 
earliest of the spring-wheat varieties. Being a soft wheat, it comes 
into competition with Pacific Bluestem, Little Club, and others of 
this class. The bearded heads are objectionable, because they do not 
pack weU in the header boxes, but this disadvantage seems to be more 
than offset by the better yields obtained. The 5-year average 



SPEING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 21 

yield of Early Baart has exceeded that of Pacific Bluestem by 3 
bushels, while the 3-year average yield exceeds that of the Blue- 
stem by 4.5 bushels per acre. 

Karun. — Karun (C. I. No. 2200-1) is a rather dwarf and early- 
rnaturing spring wheat, with beardless spikes (fig. 9, (7), white, gla- 
brous glumes, and midsized, hard, amber-colored kernels. In yield 
it has ranked second among all the varieties of spring wheat grown 
at the Moro substation during the 3-year period, 1913 to 1915, in- 
clusive. It has exceeded the Pacific Bluestem in that period by 
almost 5 bushels per acre. Karun resembles the Bluestem in its 
beardless, glabrous spikes, but differs particularly in its shorter straw 
and hard, ambor-colorcd kernels. The original seed of Karun was 




Fig. U. — Cross sections of loaves of bread made from standard hard spring wheat and from varieties of 
spring wheat grown at the Moro substation. Left to right: Top row, standard, Marquis, and Bobs; 
bottom row, Saumur, Karun, and Early Baart. 

obtained in Persia by the United States Department of Agriculture 
in 1902. The variety is not grown commercially, but only on the 
experimental plats. 

Koola,. — Koola (C. I. No. 2203-2) is a selection from a low-growing 
early variety of spring wheat, introduced into the United States from 
Arabia by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1902. 'It 
is a bearded variety (fig. 10, C), with white, glabrous glumes, and 
large, red, soft kernels. It has been tested on experiment farms for 
several years, but has never been distributed to growers. The Koola 
variety has given the liighest average acre yield of aU the spring 
wheats grown at the Eastern Oregon Dry-Farming Substation during 
the 3-year period, 1913 to 1915, inclusive. During that time it has 
outyielded the Pacific Bluestem by 6.3 bushels per acre. It also 



22 BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 

has proved superior to Pacific Bluestem in milling value during that 
period. 

TalimTca. — Talimka (C. I. No. 2495) is an early-maturing, low- 
growing, bearded spring wheat (fig. 10, B), with wliite, glabrous 
glumes, and large, flinty, hard, amber kernels. The kernels of tliis 
rare variety and of related varieties are so large and so hard that some 
of them were mistaken for varieties of durum wheat when first intro- 
duced. The Tahmka variety was obtained in 1904 by a representa- 
tive of the United States Department of Agriculture at Askabad, 
Russian Turkestan, where other similar varieties and the closely 
related varieties of the Chul group are commonly grown also. 

At the Moro substation the Talimka variety has proved one of the 
best yielding of the spring wheats. In a 3-year period, 1913-1915, 




Fig. 12.— Cross sections of loaves of bread made from varieties of hard spring wheat grown at the Moro sub- 
station. Left to right: Top row, Koola, Pacific Bluestem, and Chul; bottom row, Yantagbay, Aulieata, 
and Talimka. 

inclusive, its yield has exceeded that of Pacific Bluestem by slightly 
more than 4 bushels. So far it is grown only in an experimental way. 

MILLING AND BAKING EXPERIMENTS. 

To ascertain the relative milling and baking values of the spring 
wheats o-rown at the substation, tests of several varieties have been 
made by the Plant Chemical Laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry. 
Table XIII gives the data obtained from analyses of the wheats and 
of flour milled therefrom. Figures 11 and 12 show loaves of bread 
made from flour milled from spring-wheat varieties grown at the 
Moro substation in 1915. The loaf labeled "Standard" is from flour 
milled from one of the hard spring wheats of the northern Great 
Plains. AU the wheats grown at Moro were milled from four to five 



SPRING CEREALS AT MOEO, OEEG. 



23 



months after harvest, and the flour was made into bread about two 
weeks after milhng. Miss H. L. WessHng, of the Plant Chemical 
Laboratory, conducted the baking experiments. 

It will be observed from the analyses and photographs of loaves 
that all of the varieties appear to be equally as good as, and most of 
them better than, the Pacific Bluestem, wliich is the standard spring 
wheat of the Columbia Basin, All the samples from wliich the flour 
was made were from the varietal plats and therefore were grown under 
similar conditions. 



Table XIII. — Characteristics of grain and of fiows from spring wheats groun at the 
Moro substation in 1913, 1914, and 1915. 

Kernel Ciiaeacteks, Chemical Analyses, KERiSTEL Weights, and Bushel Weights of the Grain. 



Variety. 



Grown in 1913. 
Kernel soft. 

Beardless: 

Pacific Bluestem.. 
Bearded: 

Heine Squarehead. 

Rieti 

Koola 



Kernel hard. 



Beardless: 

Marquis 

Kanm 

Bearded: 

Aulieata 

Yantagbay . 
Talimka 



Grown in 1914. 
Kernel soft. 

Beardless: 

Pacific Bluestem. . 

Bobs 

Bearded: 

Early Baart 

Heiiie Squarehead. 

Rieti 

Koola 



Kernel hard. 

Beardless: 

Marquis 

Karun 

Bearded: 

Aulieata 

Chul 

Yantagljay 

Saumur . ." 

Talimka 



Grown in 1915. 
Kernel soft. 

Beardless: 

Pacific Bluestem..., 

Bobs 

Bearded-: 

Early Baart 

Koola 



C. I. No. 



2793 
2203-2 



4158 
2200-1 

2407-2-1 

2404-1-1 

2495-1 



4067 
2826 

1697 

2669 

2793 

2203-2 



4158 
2200-1 

2407-2-1 
2227 

2404-1-1 

2346 

2496-1 



4067 
2826-1 



1697 
2203-2 



Kernel 
color. 



White. 

Red... 
..do... 
...do... 

...do... 
Amber 

Red... 
...do... 
Amber 



White. 
...do... 

...do... 
Red... 
..do... 
..do... 



...do... 
Amber 

Red... 
..do... 
...do..., 
Amber 
...do.... 

White. 
..do.... 

..do.... 
Red... 



Water. 



Perct. 
7.62 

7.61 
7.74 
8.00 



7.83 
8.39 

8.06 
8.06 
8.25 



8.66 
9.04 



8.05 
8.72 



8.51 



8.24 
8.32 

8.32 
8.16 
7.92 
8.61 
8.24 



6.50 

8.52 



8.42 
8.60 



Ash. 



Perct. 
1.73 

1.80 
1.99 
1.92 



1.80 
1.59 

1.70 
1.47 
1.55 



2.54 
1.91 

1.92 
2.04 
1.93 
1.99 



2.10 
1.74 

1.83 
1.87 
1.79 
1.98 
1.89 



1.86 
1.72 



1.95 
2.14 



Nitro- 
gen. 



Perct. 
2.39 

2.51 
2.54 
2.52 



2.44 
2.36 

2.41 
2.25 
2.34 



3.34 
2.98 

2.86 
3.13 
3.41 
2.97 



3.26 
2.68 

2.87 
2.95 
2.91 
3.02 
2.97 



2.68 
2.80 



2.60 
2.97 



Pro- 
tein 

(NX 
5.7). 



Perct. 
13.62 

14.31 
14.48 
14.37 



13.91 
13.45 

13.74 
12.83 
13.34 



19.04 
16.98 

16.30 
17.84 
19.44 
16.93 



18.58 
15.28 

16.36 
16.81 
16.59 
17.21 
16.93 



15.30 
15.95 



Alco- 
hol- 

solu- 
ble 

nitro- 
gen. 



Perct. 
1.04 

1.19 
1.22 
1.11 



1.03 
.99 

1.01 

.94 

1.00 



1.38 
1.25 

1.11 
1.42 
1. .50 
1.28 



1.16 

1.12 
1.14 
1.14 
1. IS 
1.23 



14.80 28.7 

16.90 24.3 



Weight. 



1,000 
ker- 
nels. 



Grams. 
28.4 

24.6 
28.4 
31.3 



21.7 
32.9 

34.3 
30. 5 
31.4 



25.7 
26.7 

25.0 

27.8 
26.6 



22.6 
27.5 

35.3 

28.6 
31.2 
19.8 
27.3 



26.7 
27.6 



Bushel. 



Pounds. 
57.4 

55.5 
55.0 
56.4 



55.5 
55.7 

58. 3 
57.2 
56.5 



55.0 

58.7 

60.8 
56.4 
58.6 
55.7 



55.7 
61.2 

59.7 
55.0 
56.4 
54.9 
56.8 



52.8 
60.3 



59.4 
52.5 



24 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGKICULTTJEE. 



Table XIII. — Characteristics of grain and of flours from spring wheats grown at the 
Moro substation in 1913, 1914, and 1915 — Continued. 



BIebnel Chakacters, Chemical Analyses, Kernel Weights, and Bushel Weights of the 

G R AiN— Cont inued . 





C. I. No. 


Kernel 
color. 


Water. 


Ash. 


Nitro- 
gen. 


Pro- 
tein 
(NX 
6.7). 


Alco- 
hol- 
sol u- 
ble 
nitro- 
gen. 


Weight. 


Variety. 


1,000 
ker- 
nels. 


Bushel. 


Grown in 1915 — Continued. 

Kernel hard. 

Beardless: 

Marquis 


4158 
2200-1 

2407-2-1 
2227-1 
2404-1 
2346-1 
2495-1 

4067 
2826 

1697 

2669 

2793 

2203-2 

4158 
2200-1 

2407-2-1 
2227 

2404-1-1 

2346 

2495-1 


Red 

Amber 

Red 

...do 

...do 

Amber 

...do 

White 

...do 

...do 

Red 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Amber 

Red 

...do 

...do 

Amber 

...do 


Per ct. 
8.23 
8.46 

6.61 
6.67 

7.00 
8.16 
6.74 

7.59 

8.78 

8.24 
8.17 
8.22 
8.37 

8.10 
S.39 

7.66 
7.47 
7.66 
8.39 
7.74 


Perct. 
2.42 
1.58 

2.12 

1.89 
1.99 
2.07 
1.98 

2.05 
1.82 

1.94 
1.92 
1.96 
2.02 

2.11 
1.64 

1.88 
1.88 
1.75 
2.03 
1.81 


Perct. 
3.26 
2.67 

2.95 
2.81 
2.85 
2.97 
2.97 

2.80 
2.89 

2.73 

2.82 
2.98 
2.82 

2.99 
2.57 

2.74 
2.88 
2.67 
3.00 
2.76 


Perct. 
18.60 
15.20 

16.80 
16.00 
16.25 
16.90 
16.90 

15.99 
16.47 

15.55 
16.08 
16.96 
16.07 

17.03 
14.64 

15.93 
16.41 
15.22 
17.06 
15.72 


Perct. 


Grams. 
16.0 
24.5 

27.2 
24.5 
29.2 
20.6 
26.7 

26.9 
27.2 

26.9 
26.2 
28.5 
27.5 

20.1 
28.3 

32.3 
53.1 
30.3 
20.2 
28.5 


Pounds. 
52.7 




61.0 


Bearded: 


53.7 


Chul 


55.0 


Yantagbay 


54.8 


Saumur 


53.2 


Talimka 


56.4 


Averages. 

Kernel soft. 

Beardless: 

Pacific Bluestem 

Bobs a 


55.1 
59.5 


Bearded: 

Early Baarta 


60.1 


Heine Squarehead " 

Rietii 


55.9 
56.8 


Koola 


54.9 


Kernel hard. 

Beardless: 

Marquis 


54.8 




59.3 


Bearded: 


57.2 


Chul" 


55.0 


Yantagbay 


56.1 


Saumur « 


54.1 


Talimkn 


56.6 







Chemical Analyses and Baking Qualities of the Flour. 





« d 

^ a 
o 




i 

03 




g 



iz; 


S . 

— a 

ca 

to 60 

• 

31 
03 


w to 

Jl. 

■§-a 

< 


X 

1 


100 grams 
of flour. 


Loaf. 


Variety. 






.0^ 


"o 





Grown in 1913: 

Pacific Bluestem 

Heine Squarehead 

Rieti 


4067 

2f)69 

2793 

2203-2 

41.58 

2200-1 

2107-2-1 

2404-1-1 

2495-1 


P.ct. 
11.83 
11.83 
11.72 
11. 80 
11.78 
11.55 
11.79 
11.69 
11.81 


P.ct. 

0.448 
.516 
.548 
.464 
.396 
.428 
.400 
.392 
.428 


p.ct. 
1.90 
2.17 
2.19 
2.07 
2.20 
2.07 
2.07 
1.98 
2.07 


p.ct. 

0. 295 
.203 
.267 
. 203 
.267 
.160 
.204 
.246 
.154 


p.ct. 
1.05 
1.25 
1.29 
1.09 
1.12 
1.20 
1.12 
1.07 
1.10 


p.ct. 
10.83 
12.37 
12.48 
11.80 
12. 54 
11. SO 
11.80 
11.29 
11.80 
11.05 

14.65 
15.50 
12.94 
15.50 
17.39 
14.48 


C.c. 
64.5 
69.0 
67.5 
69.0 
71.0 
74.5 
73.7 
71.8 
72.5 
71.5 

67.0 
67.0 
62.0 
65.0 
68.0 
65.0 


c.c. 

400 
445 
550 
400 
660 
585 
590 
620 
580 
810 

380 
620 
585 
480 
420 
405 


P.ct. 
c94 
c93 
c93 

95 

96 
c95 

95 
c96 
c95 

97 

g93 
99 
g94 
g94J 
g9.^i 
g92 


P.ct. 

88 

C90 

86 




87 


Marquis. . 


96 


Karun 


d93 


Aulieata 


93 


Yantagbay . . 


94 


Talimka 


93 


Standard . 


98 


Grown in 1914: 

Pacific Bluestem 

Bobs 


4067 
2826 
1697 
2669 
2793 
2203-2 


10.53 
10.91 
11.29 
10.96 
10.76 
12.06 


.580 
.490 
.570 
.5.50 

.590 


2.57 
2.72 
2.27 
2.72 
3.05 
2.54 


.337 
.390 
.358 
.347 
.386 
.372 


.751 
.730 
. 596 
.826 
.870 
.709 


95 

98 


Early Baart 


98 


Heine Squarehead 

Rieti 


94 
92 


Koola 


94 



a Data for 2 years only. 

b Abbreviations: c=creamy, ve=very creamy, g=gray. 

<• Stiff. 

d Spongy. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MOEO, OREG. 



25 



Tabt,e XIII. — Characteristics of grain and, of flours from spring wheats grown at the 
Mora substation in 1913, 1914, and 1915 — Continued. 

Chemical Analyses and Baking Qualities of the Flour— Continued. 





li 

® 


^ 


< 


c 
o 

12 


1 o 


--. o 
o 

< 


X 

1 
o 

i— 


100 grams 
of flour. 


Loaf. 


Variety. 


c3 o 


11 


O 




Grown in 1914 — Continued. 


4158 

2200-1 

2407-2-1 

2227 

2404-1-1 

2346 

2495-1 


P.ct. 
10.25 
11.43 
10.83 
11.48 
12.31 
11.97 
10.78 
11.75 

12.51 
12.05 
11.14 
11.28 
11.39 
11.60 
12.66 
12.12 
12.49 
11.12 
11.78 


P.ct. 
0.590 
. 530 
. 5S0 
.470 
.440 
.500 
.490 
.410 

.^36 
.403 
.489 
.474 
.490 
.456 
.483 
.466 
.428 
.481 
.420 


p.ct. 
2.61 
2.36 
2.55 
2.53 
2.54 
2.61 
2. 61 
2.08 

2.17 
2.44 
2.27 
2.51 
2.77 
2.34 
2.52 
2.46 
2.42 
2.60 
2.47 


P.ct. 

0. 358 
.281 
.302 
.323 
.309 
.338 
.344 
.347 


p.ct. 
0.793 
.681 
.702 
.667 
.681 
.737 
.716 
.582 


p. ct. 
14.88 
13.45 
14.54 
14.42 
14.48 
11.88 
14. 88 
11.86 

12.37 
13. 90 
12.94 
14.30 
15. 80 
13. 35 
14.36 
14.00 
13. 80 
14.82 
14.08 
10.43 

12.62 
14.70 
12.89 

13. 94 
14.97 
13.53 
14.41 
12.87 
13.57 

14. 21 
13.19 
14.85 
13.59 
11.11 


C.c. 
69.0 
68.0 
70.0 
68.0 
69.0 
70.0 
70.0 
65.0 

64.0 
66.4 
66.0 
69.0 
68.0 
65. 5 
68.0 
67.0 
69.0 
69.0 
67.0 
66.0 

65.2 

66.7 
64.0 
67.0 
67.8 
68.0 
69.0 
69.3 
70.6 
67.5 
69.9 
69.5 
69.8 
67.5 


c.c. 

585 
580 
620 
580 
565 
555 
595 
840 

470 
590 
500 
510 
610 
520 
660 
610 
600 
580 
610 
840 

417 
605 
543 
463 
485 
438 
618 
562 
623 
595 
595 
568 
595 
830 


P.ct. 

96 
c97 

96 
c96 

96 
c95 
c97 
C98 

971 

c98 

c97 
96 

g97 
VC97 

c96 

c96 

c96 
vc97 

C97 

c98 

94.8 
98.5 
95.5 
93.8 
92.8 
94.0 
96.0 
96.3 
96.6 
96.0 
96.0 
96.0 
96.3 
97.6 


P.ct. 
964 




96 


Aulieata 


96 


Chul 


98 


Yantagbay . . 


96 


Saumur 


92 


Talimka . 


97 


Standaril . . 


98 


Grown in 1915: 

Pacific Bluestem 


4067 
2826-1 

1697 
2203-2 

4158 
2200-1 
2407-2-1 
2227-1 
2404-1 
2346-1 
2495-1 


96 


Bobs 






97 


Early Baart 


95 


Koola 






95 








97 


Karun . . . . 


94 


Aulieata 






96J 


Chul 






97 


Yantagbay.. 






96J 
94 








Talimka 






97 


Standard . 






99 


Average: 

Pacific Bluestem 


4067 
2826 
1697 
2669 
2793 

2203-2 
4158 

2200-1 

2407-2-1 

2227 

2404-1-1 

2346 

2495-1 


11.62 
11.48 
11.22 
11.40 
11.24 
11.75 
11.14 
11.49 
11.76 
11.80 
12.16 
11.55 
11.46 
<:U.75 


.488 
.447 
.530 
.533 
.544 
.443 
.492 
.471 
.488 
.468 
.420 
.491 
.446 
'^.410 


2.21 

2.58 
2.27 
2.45 
2.62 
2.37 
2.53 
2.26 
2.38 
2.50 
2.31 
2.605 
2.38 
f2.08 






93.0 


Bobs b 


1 


97.5 


Early Baart ^ .... 


1 


96.5 


Heine Squarehead b 

Rietib 


' 


92.0 
89.0 


Koola 




92.0 






96.5 






94.3 




1 


95.1 


Chul 6... 




97.5 






95.5 






93.0 


Talimka 




95.6 


Standard 




98.3 











o Abbreviations: c=creamy, vc=very creamy, g=gray. 
6 Average data for 2 years only, 
c Data for 1 year only. 



RiVTE-OP-SEEDING AND PATE-OF-SEEDING EXPERIMENTS. 

During the years 1912 to 1915, inclusive, rate-of-seeding and date- 
of-seeding experiments with spring wheat were conducted with the 
Pacific Bluestem variety. This wheat was sown at rates varying 
from 2 to 8 pecks per acre on each of two dates, one early and one 
late in the spring. Unrephcated tenth-acre plats were used, except 
in 1915, when aU seedings were made on duplicate twentieth-acre 
plats. The 8-peck rate was omitted in 1912 and the 2-peck rate 
in 1915. Tahle XIV gives the yields obtained in each year, the 
average yield from each rate on both dates and on each date in aU 
years, and the average yield of all rates from each date. 

Tahle XIV shows that there is little difference in the average yield 
per acre from the different rates of seeding during the four years. The 
early seeding, however, gave much higher yields than the later seed- 
ing in every year except 1912. The average increase in yield from 



26 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



the early seeding in the four years was 6.2 bushels per acre. In the 
early seeding the thickest rate (8 pecks) gave the highest average 
yield, and in the late seeding the 3-peck rate gave the highest average 
yield. The average date of the early seeding was March 22 and of 
the late seeding, April 20. 

Table XIV. — Annual and average yields obtained in a mte-of -seeding test of Pacific 
Bluestem tvheat sown on two dates at the Mow substation during the 4-year period, 1912 
to 1915, inclusive. 



Year and dale of seeding. 



Season of 1912: 

Early (Mar. 2.5). 

Late (Apr. 26).. 
Season of 1913: 

Early (Mar. 25). 

Late (Apr. 25).. 
Season of 1914: 

Early (Mar. 16). 

Late (Apr. 16).., 
Season of 1915: 

Early (Mar. 22). 

Late (Apr. 15)... 
Average yields: 

All dates 

Early seeding. .. 

Late seeding 



Yields per acre (bushels) at given rates of seeding. 



2pecks. Specks. 



7.0 



18.5 
10.5 



17.5 
13.7 



12.5 
14.3 
10.6 



17.5 
10.0 

15.5 
11.7 

18.6 
10.4 

13.5 
15.1 
11.9 



4 pecks. 



13.6 
11. S 

20.8 

7.7 

14.5 

8.7 

15.1 
11.1 

12.9 
16.0 
9.8 



5 pecks. 



12.5 
14.0 

21.3 
7.6 

17.8 
5.3 

17.2 
10.5 

13.3 
17.2 
9.4 



6 pecks. 7 pecks. Specks. 



10.5 
15.1 

18.3 
8.3 

16.3 
3.7 

20.6 
11.4 

13.3 
16.4 
9.6 



13.1 
15.5 

20.0 
10.4 

17.3 
4.0 

18.0 
12.8 

13.9 
17.1 
10.7 



20.0 
13.1 

18.1 
3.7 

19.2 
10.2 

14.0 
19.1 
9.0 



Aver- 



10.9 
13.3 



19.5 
9.7 



16.7 
7.3 



18.1 
11.1 



16.3 
10.1 



On April 9, 1913, and April 6, 1914, eight check plats were sown 
with the same variety, Pacific Bluestem, at the rate of 5 pecks per 
acre. This provided a medium date of seeding to compare with the 
early and late dates discussed above. The earliest seeding at the 
rate of 5 pecks per acre gave higher yields in both years than any 
check plat, further indicating the advantage of early seeding. 

SPRING OATS. 

From the standpoint of total production, oats are a less important 
crop than wheat and barley in the Columbia Basin. Judging from 
yields obtained at the substation at Moro, oats probably have not 
received the attention they deserve from the farmers of this section. 
This undoubtedly is due to the fact that the header and the combined 
harvester-thrasher, the harvesting macliines most commonly used 
in the Columbia Basin, are not adapted to the economical handling 
of this crop. Grain must be thoroughly ripe before it is cut with a 
header or thrashed with a combined harvester-thrasher. Much of 
the oat crop is lost through shattering if left too long after maturity 
before it is harvested. The oat varieties at the substation have 
always been cut with a binder and thrashed from the shock. 

VARIETAL EXPERIMENTS. 

In 1 9 12 the oat varietal experiment was on spring-disked corn ground. 
In the other years reported the oats were grown on ground summer 
tilled the previous year, as in the case of the spring barley and wheat. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



27 



The results of the test of oat varieties that have been grown for 
two or more years are presented in Table XV, with the annual yield 
in bushels per acre produced by each. 

Table XV. — Annual yields of 20 varieties and strains of spring oats qrown infield plats 
at the Moro substation during two or more years in the 5-year period, 1911 to 1915, 
inclusive. 



Variety. 



Banner 

Black American 

Canadian 

Danish Island 

Kherson 

Shadeland Challenge 

Shadeland Climax 

Siberian 

Sixty-Day 

Sixty-Day4P4 

Sixty-Day selection 

Do 

Do.i 

Storm Kine; 

Swedish Select 

Swedish Select selection 

Tartar King 

White Russian 

Local variety b 

Unnamed 



C.I. No. 



160 
549 
444 
519 
459 
680 
681 
635 
165 
789 

165-1 

165-1-1 

165 

522-1 
134 

134-1 
523 
636 
795 

357-1 



Period of maturity. 



Midseason. 

....do 

....do 

....do 

Early 

Late 

Midseason. 

do 

Early 

do 

do 

....do 

....do 

Midseason. 

do 

do 

....do 

Late 

Midseason. 
do... 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 



17.1 
35.1 
17.1 



28.9 



30.8 
18.7 
11.2 



13.7 
14.3 



38.4 
35.1 
38.4 



39.6 
17.3 
44.3 
35.6 
40.0 
37.1 



27.8 
37.6 



28.1 



36.3 
42.5 
46.4 



43.6 
31.2 
36.5 
53.7 
47.8 
66.5 



45.6 
47.2 
46.2 
40.7 
40.6 
29.4 
30.0 
44.1 



33.8 
45.2 
33.1 
54.2 



35.1 
37.0 
52.3 
33.7 
65.6 
61.9 



35.6 
37.2 
37.9 
35.0 



38.4 
45.0 



43.3 
48.9 
49.0 
52.6 



55.3 
58.3 

57.8 



57.2 
57.1 



63.0 
47.0 
52.0 



51.4 
49.2 



a Selection from the branch experiment station, Union, Oreg. 
b An unnamed variety grown locally; similar to Siberian. 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BEST VARIETIES. 

Table XVI shows the 3-year and 5-year average yields of 11 of the 
more important varieties and gives certain other data regarding 
these varieties. This table shows that the 5-year average yield of 
the Kherson is highest, though there is little difference in the 5-year 
average yield of the Kherson and that of the Sixty-Day and wSiberian. 
In the 3-year average, the Sixty-Day and a selection from Sixty-Day 
show the highest yields. 

Table XVI. — Agronomic data and 3-year and 5-year average yields for the 11 most im- 
portant varieties and selections of spring oats tested at the Moro substation during three 
or more years in the 5-year period, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 



Variety. 



Sixty-Day selection 

Kherson 

Sixty-Day 

Siberian 

Storm King selection . . . 

Canadian 

Local variety 

Swedish Select selection 

Shadeland Climax 

Black American 

Swedish Select 



C.I. 

No. 



165-1-1 
459 
165 
635 

522-1 
444 
795 

134-1 
681 
549 
134 



Date 
headed. 



June 16 
June 18 
...do.... 
June 27 
...do.... 
June 26 
Jmie 29 
June 26 
July 1 
Jxuie 28 
Jime 26 



Date ripe 



July 9 
July 13 
July 12 
July 20 
July 18 

..do 

July 20 
July 18 
July 21 
. ..do .... 
July 20 



Height. 



Inches. 
28 
26 
26 
34 
33 
33 
32 
33 
32 
28 
. 32 



Bushel 
weight . 



Average yield per 
acre. 



3 vears. 5 vears. 



Pounds. 
30.7 
30.0 
30.7 
34.0 
33.0 
36.5 
28.4 
32.4 
33.3 
28.6 
32.7 



Bushels. 
54.9 
50.1 
52.6 
49.7 
48.3 
46.8 
44.6 
43.5 
42.3 
39.9 
41.6 



Bushels. 



43.8 
43.3 
43.1 



38.0 
35.1 



28 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



Kherson and Sixty-Day. — The Kherson and Sixty-Day are very 
similar varieties of oats which came originally from southern Russia. 
The Kherson was introduced about 20 years ago from the Kherson 




Fig. 13.— Heads of oats grown at the Moro substation: A, Swedish Select, B, Kherson. 

Government, and the Sixty-Day about 15 years ago from the Podolia 
Government. These oats are both early in maturing, ripening at 
Moro about the second week in July. The straw is slender and 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



29 



usually rather short. The heads are small, spreading (fig. 13), and 
usually well filled with slender, yellow kernels. While the weight 
per bushel is sometimes rather low, the percentage of hull is lower 
than in most varieties of oats. The Sixty-Day selection which has 
given the highest 3-year average yield at Moro does not differ in 
appearance from the unselected variety. The principal objections to 
these early oats are the small size of the kernel and the shortness of 
the straw. Because of the short straw it is sometimes difficult to 
harvest them with a binder. When the oat crop is to be cut for 




Fig. 14.— a twenticlh-acre plat of SL\ty-Day oats at the Moro substation in 1914. 

hay, some other variety with larger, taller straw should be grown. 
A plat of Sixty-Day oats at the Moro substation is shown in figure 14. 
Siberian. — The Siberian is an old European variety. The stock 
grown at the Moro substation was obtained a number of years ago 
from the Ontario Agricultural College, where this variety has been 
a leading one for many years. The Siberian variety ripens at Moro 
about 8 or 10 days later than the Kherson and Sixty-Day. It is a 
tall, rather slender strawed variety, with open heads. The kernels 
are white, long, and slender, but are considerably larger than those 
of the Kherson and Sixty-Day varieties. The average weight per 
bushel at Moro was 34 pounds, which is second only to that of the 



30 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



Canadian. The 5-year average yield was only slightly less than that 
of the Sixty-Day and Kherson, exceeding that of any other variety 
by several bushels. A head of the Siberian oat is shown in figure 15. 




Fig. 15. — Heads of oats grown at the Moro substation: A , Siberian; £, Canadian. 

f'anadian. — The Canadian is a variety of oats which has been 
grown for many years in Scotland and in some portions of northern 
Europe as the Barley oat, so called because of its short, broad ker- 
nels, which somewhat resemble a grain of barley. The Canadian 
ripens at Moro about a week later than the Kherson and Sixty-Day, 



SPEING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



SI 



but two or three days earlier than most other varieties. The straw- 
is tall and coarse, and the heads are very large and open (fig. 15). 
Tlie kernels are white, short, and broad. The two prominent char- 
acteristics of this variety are the wide-spreading heads and the short 
kernels. One of its principal faults is a tendency to produce only 
one grain to the spikelet, the second or smaller grain often being 
entirely inclosed in the hull of the first. That this tendency has not 
been marked at the Moro substation is shown by the weight per 
bushel, which is higher than that of any other variety. 

SPRING BARLEY. 

Next to wheat, barley is the most important cereal grown on the 
dry lands of the Columbia Basin. Most of the barley grown is sown 
in the sprmg, though at the lower elevations winter barley is grown 
successfully. 

VARIETAL EXPERIMENTS. 

At the substation 43 varieties of sprmg barley have been tried. 
Acre yields have been obtained from 13 of these in each of the five 
years, 1911 to 1915, mclusive. Owmg to an exceedingly unfavorable 
season the barley yields were low iiil911. In 1912 the spring-barley 
varieties were placed on poor soil and no high yields were obtained. 
In 1913, 1914, and 1915 the yields of most of the varieties were con- 
siderably higher than m previous years, and spring barley exceeded 
any other spring crop in total weight of grain produced per acre. 

In Table XVII will be found an alphabetical list of the spring- 
barley varieties grown two or more years, with the yields of each 
variety in bushels per acre. These yields are based on the yields 
of single tenth-acre plats in 1911, 1912, and 1913 and of duplicate 
twentieth-acre plats in 1914 and 1915, except as otherwise stated. 

Table XVII. — Yields of varieties of spring harleij grown in roivs and plats of various 
sizes at the Moro substation ivithin the 5-year period, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, shoiving 
also the source of seed and group relationships. 



Variety. 



C.I. 

No. 



Origin. 



(Iroup. 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 



AliyssLnian 

Do 

Do 

Do 

Arlington 



Barliary. 



668 
669 
673 

674 
702 

695 



Beldi 190 

Black Abyssinian 670 

Black Algerian ! 70S-1 

Black Hull-less ! 596 



Do. 



Bohemian 27-1 

ChevaUer II i 200 

Chili Brewing I 657-1 



Abyssinia 

do 

do.. 

do 

Hybrid, Vir- 
ginia. 

Northern 
Africa. 

Algeria 

Abyssinia 

Algeria 

Southwestern 
Asia. 

Hybrid, Ore- 
gon. 

Austria 

Sweden , 

Chili , 



a Grown in head rows; yield not recorded. 
b Grown in rod rows, usually unrepiicated. 



2-rowed . . 
6-rowed . . , 

...do 

...do 

...do 



.do. 

.do. 
-do. 
-do. 
.do. 



6-rowed, 

hooded. 

2-rowed . . . 

...do 

6-rowed . . . 



(a) 
(o) 
(a) 
(a) 



(a) 
3.5 



(a) 

6.4 
(o) 



(») 
(a) 
(a) 

C) 
(a) 

(a) 

15.5 

(a) 
6 22.8 
17.8 

20.7 

(a) 

26.2 
6 26.0 



6 35.0 
6 32.5 
6 32.5 
6 23.1 
6 32.5 

(a) 

37.5 
6 40. 3 
C39.3 

37.9 

33.1 

6 25. 

31.0 

C35.2 



6 22.1 
6 22.1 
C14. 1 
6 3.9 
6 15.6 

6 32.5 

36.2 

6 11.7 

46.3 

25.2 

23.3 

«3.2 
21.8 
23.7 



6 20.8 
6 18. 2 



C28.5 



6 16.0 
46,4 
36.6 

27.0 

6 4.0 
32.5 

47.5 



c Grown in 2-rod rows replicated 2 to 4 times. 



32 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table XVII. — Yields of varieties of spring barley grown in rows and plats of various 
sizes at the Moro substation within the 5-year period, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, showing 
also the source of seed and group relationships — Continued. 



Variety. 



Coast 

Do 

Common Chili 

Frauconian 

Gatami 

Gray Al)yssiiiian 

Ilanna 

Hamichen 

Heil's HamiaNo. 1 

Heil's Hamia No. 2 

Heil's IlamiaNo. 3 

Horsford (Texas Beard- 
less). 

Himalaya (Guy Mayle) . . . 

Imperial 

Mahan 

Manchuria ( Minn. No. 105) 

Manchuria (Minn. No. 6).. 

Manchuria (O. A. C. No. 
21). 

Mandschurei (O. A. C.) . . . 

Mansury 



Mariout 

Oderlirucker 

Peru 

Princess 

Do 

Salamanca 

Svanhals 

White Smyrna (Ouchac). 
Wisconsin No. 9 



C.L 
No. 



Origin. 



691 

626 
663 
.679 
575 
672 
24 
531 
681 
678 
682 
610 

260-1 
289 
1144 
576 

638 



261 
537 
707 
529 
603 
689 
187 
658 



California (?) . . 6-rowed . 

do do 

Cliili L..do 



Group. 



Germany. . 

China 

Abyssinia. 

Austria 

Sweden . . . 
Germany.. 

do 

do 

Texas (?).. 



China 

France 

North Dakota. 

China 

do 

do 



do 

North Dakota 

Egypt, 



2-rowed . 
6-rowed . 

...do 

2-rowed . 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 



6-rowed . 
2-rowed . 

...do 

6-rowed . 

...do 

...do 



...do 

2-rowed . 



6-rowed . . 



Germany ' . . . do . 

I'eru 

Sweden 

do 

Spain 

Sweden 

Asia Minor. 
Wisconsin. . 



do.... 
2-rowed . 

...do 

6-rowed . 
2-rowed . 

...do 

6-rowed . 



Yield per acre (bushels). 



2.9 

(a) 

(O) 

5.9 

(a) 
10.0 

8.4 
(o) 
(a) 
(a) 

5.4 

2.9 
4.3 
12.0 



2.7 

6.3 

7.0 

(a) 

4.6 

2.0 

13.8 

16.5 

9.3 



1912 



23.3 
6 31.2 

(«) 

16.8 
6 35.1 

26.0 

25.2 

(a) 

(a) 

(a) 

24.5 

6.0 
25.0 
22.0 
23.9 



21.2 

28.0 

23.5 

(a) 

21.5 

19.1 

(a) 

5.1 
(a) 
22.3 



1913 



38.3 
C25.0 
b 45.5 

36.4 
C30.6 

29.5 

48.3 
6 32.5 
6 20.8 
6 48. 1 

14.4 

33.8 
17.3 
25.1 
3.3.0 
34.3 
34.0 

38.7 
31.2 

40.6 
30.6 

6 46.8 
24.0 
17.0 

6 11.7 
34.1 
42.0 
25.4 



1914 1915 



37.9 
32.5 



29.2 

41.2 

6 22.8 

26.9 

32.8 
6 28. 3 
6 24.7 



20.8 


22.5 


25.0 


42.2 


28.0 


36.0 


34.6 


27.0 


25.4 




23.4 




29.2 


27.2 


24.2 




42.1 


54.5 


34.5 


41.5 


40.4 


48. 3' 


17.5 




20.8 




(a) 




30.6 


38.7 


36.7 


49.8 



42.6 
51.2 



47.5 
36.0 

6 20.8 
40.0 
46.4 

C21.9 
C5.0 



a Grown in head rows ; yield not recorded. 
6 Grown in rod rows, usually unreplicated. 



Grown In 2-rod rows replicated 2 tc? times. 



Table XVIII gives acre yields of the varieties that have been 
tested during the entire five years. The highest average yield per 
acre, 34.3 bushels, Was obtained from the Mariout variety (C. I, No. 
261), a 6-rowed form. The varieties giving the second and third 
highest average yields were Wliite Smyrna (C. I. No. 658) and 
Hannchen (C. I. No. 531), both of which are 2-rowed barleys. 

Table XVIII. — Annual and average yields of 13 spring-barley varieties grown at the 
Moro substation in twentieth-acre or larger 'plats during the 5-year period, 1911 to 1915, 
inclusive. 



Variety. 


C. I. 
No. 




Yield per aci 


3 (bushels). 




1911 


1912 


1913 


1914 


1915 


Aver- 
age. 


Black Hull-less 


596 
190 
200 
626 
575 
531 
24 
261 
1144 
576 
537 
187 
658 


3.7 
3.5 
6.4 
2.9 
5.9 
8.4 

10.0 
6.3 

12.0 

16.4 

7.0 

13.8 
9.3 


17.8 
15.5 
26.2 
23.3 
16.8 
25.2 
26.0 
28.0 
22.0 
23.9 
23.5 
25.1 
27.0 


37.9 
37.5 
31.0 
38.3 
36.4 
4S.3 
29.5 
40.6 
25.1 
.33. 
30.6 
34.1 
42.0 


25.2 

36.2 
21.8 
32.5 
41.2 
32.8 
26.9 
42.1 
28.0 
34.6 
34.5 
30.6 
36.7 


36.6 
48. S 
32.5 
51.2 
36.0 
46.4 
40.0 
54.5 
36.0 
27.0 
41.5 
38.7 
49.8 


24.2 


Beldi 


28.3 


Chevalier 


23.6 


Coast 


29.6 


Gatami 


27.8 


Hannchen 


32.2 


Hanna 


26.5 


Mariout 


34.3 


Mahan 


24.6 


Manchuria (Minn. No. 105) 


29.6 


O dorhrucker 


29.4 


Svanhals 


28.5 


White Smyrna 


33.0 







o Estimated yield by comparison with yield of other varieties during 1912, 1913, 1914, and 1915. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



33 



In Table XIX the spring-barley varieties are arranged in groups 
of related varieties, showing the 5-jear average yield of each variety 
and the average yield of each group. Typical heads of the leading 
'varieties of barley at the Moro substation are shown in figure 16. 

Table XIX. — Average yields of spring-harley varieties groivn at the Moro substation 
for the 5-year period, 1911 to 191,5, inclusive, arranged in groups of related varieties. 



Groups. 



1. Six-rowed (hulled): 

Beldi 

Coast (Common California). 

Gatami 

Manchuria (Minn. No. 105). 

Mariout 

Oderbrucker 



Average. 



2. Six-rowed naked (hull-less): 

Black Hull-loss 

Black Hull-less (Union, Greg.). 



Average. 



Two-rowed (hailed): 

Chevalier 

Hannehen 

Hanna 

Mahan 

Svanhals 

White Smvrna 



Average. 



C.I. No. 



190 
626 
575 
576 
261 
537 



200 
531 
24 
n44 
187 
658 



Yield 
per acre. 



Bushels. 
28.3 
29.6 
27.8 
29.6 
34.3 
29.4 



29.8 



24.2 
26.0 



23.6 
32.2 
26.5 
24.6 

28.5 
33.0 



28.0 



o Average yield for four years only, 1912-1915. The average yield of Black Hull-less (C. I. No. 596) in 
the same four years was 29.4 bushels. 

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BEST VARIETIES. 

The 6-rowed varieties. — The leading 6-rowed varieties, as shown in 
Table XIX, are Mariout, Coast, Oderbrucker, and Beldi. Heads of 
the first three varieties are sho-uai in figure 16. 

The Mariout (C. I. No. 261) is an Egyptian variety which is char- 
acterized by a compact spike of the type often called club, although 
it possesses this characteristic to a lesser degree than the White Club. 
The kernel is somewhat coarse and the beard is not always entirely 
broken off in thrashing. It is an early, heavy-yielding variety in this 
-section. 

The Coast variety (C. I. No. 626) is the common 6-rowed barley 
grown upon the Pacific slope and in the Columbia Basin. It 
is called by various names, such as Common California, Bay Brewing, 
and sometimes Blue barley. The spike is less compact than that of 
the Mariout, and in many localities the plant is somewhat taller. 
Like the Mariout, the awn is not entirely removed in thrashing. It 
is a large-kerneled, heavy-yielding variety. It has been grown for 
many years in the western United States and probably came origi- 
nally from Eg3^t. 

Beldi (C. I. No. 190) is another North African variety, which 
closely resembles the Coast. It is, however, slightly earlier, and the 
spike and straw are somewhat shorter. 



34 



BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



TTie 2-rowed varieties. — Of the 2-rowed varieties the Hannchen, 
White Smyrna, and Svanhals have given the best results. Heads of 
the Hannchen and Wliite Smyrna barleys are shown in figure 16. 

The Hannchen (C. I. No. 531) is a 2-rowed variet^^, with a narrow, 
nodding spilvc. It was produced by the Swedish Plant-Breeding 
Association of Svalof, Sweden, and was a selection from Hanna. 
Throughout most of the northern United States it is somewhat earlier 
than Hanna and a better ynelder. 




Fig. 16.— Heads of five varieties of spring barley grown at the More substation: A, Coast; B, Mariout; C, 
Odcrbrucker; D, White Smyrna; E, Hannchen. 

Wliite Smyrna (C. I. No. 658) came originally from Asia Minor. 
It is a very large kerneled, 2-rowed variety, with a nodding spike. It 
has a very short straw, and for this reason often gives an unfavorable 
impression when first seen. It can be harvested successfully, how- 
ever, and is a very heavy yielding variety. It is early, stands 
drought well, and is well adapted to the Columbia Basin uplands. 

The variety Svanhals (C I. No. 187) was produced by the Swedish 
Plant-Breeding Association. It has a wide, erect, 2-rowed spike, with 
large kernels and a stiff straw. It very seldom lodges, and it gives 
satisfactory yields throughout most of the western United States, 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 



35 



but is hardly equal to the Hannchen and White Smyrna in this respect. 
This variety has been rather widely distributed under the name 
Swamaeck, which is a translation of the Swedish name. 

COMPARATIVE VALUE OF WHEAT, OATS, AND BARLEY. 

Table XX gives comparative figures on the acre yields of three 
spring crops, wheat, barley, and oats, and the pound values and acre 
values of these crops. The price per pound is based on the average 
price of these cereals in Oregon on December 1 in the 10 years, 1905 
to 1914, inclusive, as given by the Bureau of Crop Estimates,^ The 
average yields in this table are those obtained in plat tests at the 
Moro substation during 1913, 1914, and 1915. The average yields 
and the acre values for the leading variety of each crop in the five 
years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, are also given. 

Tabl;e XX. — Average acre yields of all spring ivheat, oat, and barley varieties grown at 
the Moro substation in 191.i, 1914, and 1915, and of the best variety of each for the 5-year 
period, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, with average values based on the average farm price of 
these cereals in the 10-year period, 1905 to 1914, inclusive. 



Crop. 



Spring barley 
Spring oats. . . 
Spring wheat. 



Price 

per 

pound. 



Cents. 
1.23 
1.38 
1.35 



Average for all varie- 
ties, 1913 to 1915. 



Yield 
per 
acre. 



Pounds. 
1,572 
1,485 
1,296 



Value 
per 
acre. 



«19.33 
20.49 
17.50 



Best variety, 1911 to 1915. 



Name. 



Mariout 

Kherson 

Early Baart... 



Yield 
per 
acre. 



Value 
per 
acre. 



Pounds. 
1, 040 
1,402 
1,302 



$20. 35 
19.35 
18.39 



Table XX shows that oats lead in value per acre of the three cereals 
for the three years, 1913 to 1915, barley being second and wheat 
third. 

There is little difference in acre value between the crops when only 
the highest yielding variety of each crop is considered. Both oats 
and barley, however, have given higher yields in pounds per acre 
than spring wheat, and the value per acre based on the 10-year aver- 
age farm price of these highest yielding varieties is highest for the 
barley, with oats $1 and wheat $1.96 per acre less. 

SPRING EMMER. 

Spring emmer has had a thorough trial at the substation. It is 
apparently less drought resistant than wheat, oats, and barley. The 
acre yields have been considerably less than those of most varieties of 
other spring grains. Spring emmer (frequently advertised as spelt 
by seed companies) is apparently not so well adapted to Columbia 
Basin conditions as either oats or barley. 



1 statistics of principal crops. U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook, 1915, p. 423, 435, 441. 1916. 



36 BULLETIN 498, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTTJEE. 

One variety (C. I. No. 1524) has been tested since 1911, and the 
highest acre yield has been 31.5 bushels of 32 pounds each. The 
average yield in the five years was 21.8 bushels per acre, or less than 
half the number of pounds per acre yielded by Kherson oats or 
Mariout barley in the same period. 

GRAIN SORGHUMS. 

Several varieties of the grain sorghums, including Manchu and 
White kaoliang, milo, feterita (Sudan durra), and kafir, have been 
tried, but with the exception of Manchu kaoliang all have been dis- 
carded. The cold spring weather in this section makes it difiicult 
to secure good stands of most varieties of sorghums. 

The Manchu kaoliang has given the best results, but the yields have 
not been large enough to recommend this crop for trial by farmers. 

Two varieties of broom corn have also been grown. Fair seed 

yields have been obtained, but the brush produced has been of poor 

quality. 

SUMMARY. 

Cooperative experiments with cereals have been conducted at the 
Moro substation during the five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 

Moro is located in Sherman County, in the north-central part of 
Oregon, on the roUing liills of tlie Columbia Basin, about 15 miles 
from the Columbia River. 

Tlie elevation of the substation is approximately 2,000 feet. The 
soil and climate are typical of a large part of the Columbia Basin in 
Oregon and Washington. 

The average annual precipitation at or near Moro in the past 11 
years has been 11.35 inches. The average seasonal precipitation 
(March to July, inclusive) in the five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive, 
was 3.83 inches. 

The average evaporation from a free water surface was 45.07 
inclies during the seven months, April to October, inclusive, in the 
five years, 1911 to 1915, inclusive. 

Tlie ratios of evaporation to seasonal precipitation and to annual 
precipitation are higher at the Moro substation than at the substa- 
tions at Nephi, Utah, or Moccasin, Mont. 

The average frost-free period in the five years, 1911 to 1915, in- 
clusive, was 155.8 days. The average date of the last frost (32° F.) 
in the spring was May 2, and of the first frost in the fall, October 5. 

Tlie average wind velocity for the years 1911 to 1915, inclusive, 
was 5.9 miles per hour. 

The experimental work with grains at the Moro substation in- 
cludes varietal testing and breeding, crop rotation, and tillage experi- 
ments. Only the results of varietal experiments with sprmg grains 
are reported in this bulletin. 



SPRING CEREALS AT MORO, OREG. 37 

Seventy-six varieties of spring wlieat have been, tested for two 
or more years. Early Baart wheat (C. I. No. 1697) produced 
the highest average yield, 22.2 bushels per acre, in the five years, 
1911 to 1915, inclusive. The selection from Koola (C. I. No. 
2203-2) gave the highest tlu-ee-year average yield, 27.7 bushels per 
acre, in the years 1913, 1914, and 1915. 

The average yield of 14 varieties of common and club wheat 
varieties in 1913, 1914, and 1915 exceeded the average yield of two 
durum varieties by 3.5 bushels per acre. The average yield of the 
highest yielding common wheat exceeded the average yield of the 
highest yielding durum wheat by 7.7 bushels per acre in the same 
period. 

Milling and baking tests of several of the spring-wheat varieties 
grown at the Moro substation have been made by the Plant Chemi- 
cal Laboratory of the Biu'eau of Chemistry of the United States 
Department of Agriculture. These tests indicate that most of the 
varieties are as good as and some are better milluig wheats than the 
Pacific Bluestem, which is the standard sprmg wheat of the Colum- 
bia Basin. 

Date-of-seeding experiments with Pacific Bluestem spring wheat 
indicate that seedmg as early m the spring as possible gives the best 
results. 

Rate-of-seeding experiments with the Pacific Bluestem variety 
indicate that for early spring seeding about 5 pecks per acre is the 
best rate. For late seeding 3 pecks per acre produced the highest 
yields. 

Of the oat varieties under experiment, the early varieties, like 
Kherson and Sixty-Day, have given the best results, though Siberian, 
a variety maturing in midseason, has given yields practically as high 
as the Sixty-Dary and Kherson in a 5-year average. 

Forty-two varieties of spring barley have been tested, and 5-year 
average yields obtained for 13 varieties. The variety giving the 
highest average yield in the five years was Mariout, C. I. No. 261, a 
6-rowed form, yielding 34.3 bushels per acre. The 2-rowed forms' 
White Smyi'na and Hannchen produced average yields m the same 
period of 33 and 32.2 bushels per acre, respectively. 

Spring emmer has not given as good results as spring barley or oats. 

The grain sorghums have not produced profitable returns. Of the 
varieties tested, Manchu kaoliang is the most promising. 

The 5-year average acre yield in pounds of the highest yielding 
varieties of the three leading cereals was as follows: Wlieat, 1,362 
pounds; oats, 1,402 pounds; barley, 1,646 pounds. 

Based on the 10-year average farm price of these cereals in Oregon, 
the acre value of wheat would be $18.39; oats, S19.35; and barley, 
.35. 



PUBLICATIONS OF U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TREATING OF 
CEREAL PRODUCTION AND DRY FARMING IN THE PACIFIC NORTH- 
WEST. 

AVAILABLE FOR FREE DISTRIBUTION. 

Range Improvement by Deferred and Rotation Grazing. (Department Bulletin 34.) 
Alaska and Stoner, or "Miracle" Wheats: Two Varieties much Misrepresented. 

(Department Bulletin 357.) 
Oats: Growing the Crop. (Farmers' Bulletin 424.) 
Barley: Growing the Crop. (Farmers' Bulletin 443.) 
Sweet Clover (Farmers' Bulletin 485.) 

The Smuts of Wheat, Oats, Barley, and Corn. (Farmers' Bulletin 507.) 
Growing Hard Spring WHieat. (Farmers' Bulletin 678.) 
Varieties of Hard Spring Wlieat. (Farmers' Bulletin 680.) 
The Field Pea, As a Forage Crop. (Farmers' Bulletin 690.) 
Economic Study of Farm Tractor in Corn Belt. (Farmers' Bulletin 719.) 
Marquis Wlieat. (Farmers' Bulletin 732.) 

FOR SALE BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS, GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

Farm Experience with the Tractor. (Department Bulletin 174.) Price, 5 cents. 
Experiments with Marquis Wlieat. (Department Bulletin 400.) Price, 10 cents. 
Leguminous Crops for Green Manuring. (Farmers' Bulletin 278.) Price, 5 cents. 
Farm Practice in the Columbia Basin Uplands. (Farmers' Bulletin 294.) Price, 5 

cents. 
The Repair of Farm Equipment. (Farmers' Bulletin 347.) Price, 5 cents. 
Sixty-Day and Kherson Oats. (Farmers' Bulletin 395.) Price, 5 cents. 
Oats: Distribution and Uses. (Farmers' Bulletin 420.) Price, 5 cents. 
The Control of Blowing Soils. (Farmers' Bulletin 421.) Price, 5 cents. 
Pasture and Grain Crops for Hogs in the Pacific Northwest. (Farmers' Bulletin 599.) 

Price, 5 cents. 
38 



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